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A review by katiedermody
Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Chloe Liese
This was such a lovely ending to the Wilmot Sisters series! With everything Juliet dealt with during Bea's book at the beginning, I've been looking forward to her story and it did not disappoint. She first encounters Will, a giant, gorgeous red-headed and befreckled man, one night during her trip to Scotland but was too in her heartbreak for anything beyond a dance at the pub. Months later, she finds him at home, where he's appeared as a college friend of Christopher's. They reconnect and hatch a plan to be each other's romance study buddies, her so she can ease back into things and him because he gave up a long time ago on romance but needs a wife. Of course, with the immediate attraction, the care they both show as they get to know one another and learn about his experiences as an Autistic man and hers as a chronically ill woman, it isn't long before practice no longer feels like practice. I loved how sweet and hopeful this story is with a dash of spice (eventually, as if is a bit of a slow-burn). Whereas at least one of or both leads in the first two books didn't like each other to begin with and had to grow in appreciation (which I'm here for and love), there was a beautiful simplicity in how these two enjoyed each other's company right from the start.
A someone going through their own journey discovering what it means to me to be neurodivergent, I appreciated Will's story and the feelings he had to work through around having accepted love probably wouldn't happen for him. Doubly, as someone who also live with dynamic chronic illness with pain and fatigue as two main symptoms, Juliet's experiences with needing people to accept and learn about her new normal hit close to home. As always, I appreciate the care and attention Chloe puts into her stories when it comes to disability. I also noticed that the Shakespeare references seemed to have leveled up in this one and I enjoyed picking out as many little homages I could. It may just be that the two plays this one references the most are the two I knew the best, so I noticed more; regardless, I thought some were especially clever and am guessing there were even more I missed. Well done overall with this series, and I look forward to revisiting it again at some point as well as whatever you gift us with next!
A someone going through their own journey discovering what it means to me to be neurodivergent, I appreciated Will's story and the feelings he had to work through around having accepted love probably wouldn't happen for him. Doubly, as someone who also live with dynamic chronic illness with pain and fatigue as two main symptoms, Juliet's experiences with needing people to accept and learn about her new normal hit close to home. As always, I appreciate the care and attention Chloe puts into her stories when it comes to disability. I also noticed that the Shakespeare references seemed to have leveled up in this one and I enjoyed picking out as many little homages I could. It may just be that the two plays this one references the most are the two I knew the best, so I noticed more; regardless, I thought some were especially clever and am guessing there were even more I missed. Well done overall with this series, and I look forward to revisiting it again at some point as well as whatever you gift us with next!