Happy Canada Day!
I read Farah Heron’s Just Playing House while I was laid low by a stomach virus last week. It was lovely and perfect to read about a hot man taking care of the woman he’s had a crush on for years. There are a lot of reasons I like reading romance. Reading this book at this moment was all about wish fulfillment. Someone who wants to care take, yes, I want to read that when I feel terrible. Someone who has a hard time letting people in, but lets this guy take care of her, yes, I want to read that.
Nikhil Shamdasani is back in Toronto after a decade in Los Angeles and on the verge of either stardom or failure. Nik has a team of handlers who are trying to change him and desperately wants someone who will help him stay true to himself, but with more fashion sense. Mahreen “Marley” Kamal is about to have life changing surgery when she’s given the opportunity to style Nik, an opportunity that could take her to her dream of being a personal shopper at a ritzy department store. Marley and Nik went to prom together when they were in high school. They both have to deal with being Brown in predominantly white spaces.
I enjoy Farah Heron’s books. She has a way with moving her characters from singular entities to committed partners that feels both natural and monumental. Marley is so self contained that she assumes she will always be single. When she needs someone to care for her after her preventative double mastectomy, Nik is very happy to be there. He is a caretaker at heart. Marley is one of my favorite kinds of characters, outwardly composed and messy as hell on the inside. I loved the way the third act break up and the make up are handled, big emotions followed by logic. The secondary characters are great and I have been reminded that I have Reena and Nadeem’s book, Accidentally Engaged, and I would like to read it.
I also love that Heron adds recipes at the back of her books. Well spiced lentils may not solve most problems, but they don’t hurt.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Forever and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.