REVIEW: Lips Like Sugar by Jess K Hardy
Dear Jess K Hardy,
Mira Harlow runs “Glazed and Confused”, the local bakery in Red Falls, the town closest to Bluebird Basin. She’s a single mother, with a 14-year-old son, Ian and a mother who is in the early stages of what what will probably become dementia.
Cole Sanderson is Matthew Madigan’s best friend and was the drummer in The Makers. He now has a successful music studio in Seattle where he records up and coming bands, as well as making his own music doing backing for TV shows and movies. In addition he regularly plays on YouTube with talented kids (like Dave Grohl but without the cheating). Cole is a very proud grandpa – his daughter, Becks, presented him with a granddaughter a few months earlier and Cole is just gooey over little Ruby. Cole had an on-again-off-again relationship with Nancy, lead singer from Asyd Nancy, but he’s realised after a lot of pain that it’s a relationship that isn’t healthy for him.
Cole is a silver fox in the vein of Timothy Olyphant and, like Madigan, is also very in touch with his emotions. Cole’s problem is that he falls too fast and wears his heart on his sleeve.
In town for Madigan and Ashley’s wedding, Cole pops into Glazed and Confused to pick up an order of tarts for the festivities on the way to the ski resort when he stumbles onto a situation. Mira’s ex-boyfriend, Paul, has come for the wedding too and he’s brought his new wife. Cole finds himself a very willing participant in a quickly hatched fake dating plan so Mira can save face.
Lips Like Sugar has some delightful epistolary sections, where Cole and Mira start texting one another, building a friendship which might turn into a long distance relationship if they will take the chance.
When Cole comes to town for a few weeks to help out with Little Timber while Madigan and Ashley go on their honeymoon, the fledgling couple have a chance to try things on for size.
“I’m going to tell you my favorite song.”
Clearing her throat, she slid her feet back into her shoes and said, “Okay.”
“It’s ‘Straight to Hell’ by the Clash.”
“I have a poster of Joe Strummer smoking a cigarette above my bed.”
“Mira,” he said, deadly serious, his gaze penetrating. “Marry me.”
It doesn’t take long for the fake to be thrown out of the window though. Cole, true to form, falls hard and fast. Mira falls too but she’s terrified and in denial. She can’t leave Red Falls and Cole seems locked in to Seattle. He has a business and his beloved daughter and granddaughter are there. How can she compete? Her experience with Paul, who left when she had to start caring for her mother, showed her that she can only rely on herself. Everyone leaves. So, she suggests that they keep anything physical compartmentalised – just sex. Friends with occasional benefits if you will.
He’d told her he understood, but that didn’t mean he agreed with her. Because he didn’t. At all. He was already a proud resident of Emotionland. He’d popped a tent after Madigan’s wedding, built a house when she’d sent him tarts, and dug out a football field–sized bunker when she’d led him into her bedroom. And now? Fuck it. He was running for mayor.
Once again the sex is inventive, emotional and deeply sexy at the same time. Once again we have older protagonists – Mira is 50 and Cole is 54. I liked the bisexual representation too – Cole is bi – it’s good to see that identity isn’t erased because he ends up in a hetero relationship.
The banter between Mira and Cole is wonderful and I enjoyed Mira’s friendship with BFF, Jen, as well. (I emailed the author and she tells me there will be a book for Jen at some point, so yay).
“Holy shit!” Then she ran around the counter and grabbed Jen by her arms, and they jumped up and down like two tweens who’d scored Taylor Swift tickets.
“I can’t believe it,” Mira said.
“I totally can. But I need to stop jumping.”
“Why?”
“Because I just peed a little.”
“Me too,” Mira said, crossing one leg over the other and squeezing.
The conflict in Lips Like Sugar is not hard to predict – neither Cole nor Mira really want a long distance relationship. Once again, the way the couple dealt with their problem left me just a little flat. I understood it but I admit to being a smidgen frustrated with them both. That said, I was all in for this pair from the start and everything else about the book worked really well for me.
Wish You Were Here, the next book, features Davis (Ashley’s 20-something daughter) and Kev, one of Madigan’s Little Timber participants. From what happened in Lips Like Sugar, it looks like there’s a rough road to their HEA so I’ll need to prepare for some angst. while Lips Like Sugar included some tough subjects – Mira’s mother’s health isn’t likely to improve with time – most of the worst of it is in the future so there’s a fairly light, albeit sensitive, touch to this topic in the book.
Grade: B+
Regards,
Kaetrin
This is my favorite in the series and I loved it just so much. Cole & Mira. <3
This series intrigues me, and bonus points for the Echo and the Bunnymen song for a title.
This sounds really interesting! I’ve requested a copy from the library. Thanks for the review.
@Angie: I enjoyed both books but maybe this one edged out the first just a little. Really looking forward to Jen and Scott’s book too!
@Tanya: I was late to the party but it’s a great series.
@Jmc: Hope you enjoy!
This sounds tempting! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kaetrin.
This sounds fun. How stand alone is it?
@Cleo: I think it can work as a stand alone. There are references to the previous book and events of it but if you read my review that will give you enough information to go on I reckon.