Try Hard

Absolutely adored this story, it was so romantic, heartwarming and real at the same time, bringing light to insecurities and health conditions in such an honest way.

Fia Pendrick travels the world reviewing travel accommodations, she has come back to her hometown because she was invited to a childhood friend’s wedding. Her dad invites her to go plane watching with him and reveals that he’s good friends with Jeremy, Eve’s father. Eve Archer, the rugby player who was her bisexual awakening and she’s had an unrequited crush on for over twenty years, also the older sister of her peer mentee, Sophie. Eve retired from profession rugby after more than a few injuries and now runs an interior design business with her best friend, Rohanna. Her parents are divorced and her dad invites her to go plane watching so she accepts to spend some time with him while she’s in town for her friend Kieran’s wedding. When she arrives she sees Ophelia Pendrick, the girl she’s had a crush for over twenty years. Eve decides to try to get close to her this time, even if just as friends but she can’t keep her feelings under control. She also can’t control the way her fans feel about potential partners. Can they get to know each other like they always wanted or will Eve’s celebrity status and Fia’s need for privacy tear them apart? I love a good second chance romance. There was definitely chemistry between Fia and Eve and I really liked them as individual characters. It was a very slow burn but, taking into account, Fia’s past relationship experiences, the slow burn was necessary and realistic. They had good banter from early on in the book and that just continued to…

Beautiful and engaging. True love at its best.

Fia, Ophelia, and Eve had mutual secret crushes on each other since before they went to highschool. And after twenty years they find the courage to confess them and they actually still feel the same. If it wasn't for Kim and Tanika that invited Fia to the wedding it might not have happened for them. The other couples in the book also has potential to be more. But that may be other stories for another time.

One of the first books I read by Jacqueline Ramsden (other than ones she co-authored with Lily Seabrooke) was Dear Ripley, which wasn’t in and of itself bad, but it had the character of Morgan, who I detested, so it took me a while to read another Ramsden book again, but now I’ve read nearly every Ramsden book (except Love, Morgan, in which Morgan is a main character), and I’m happy I’ve done so, as every book has been good to great. That streak continues with Try Hard, with two delightful characters. Eve Archer was popular in school and became a world-famous rugby player, even going to the Olympics. She was also Ophelia Pendrick’s bisexual awakening. Eve is a wonderful character, someone who anybody would want in their corner, without being too good to be true. But it’s Ophelia who is truly outstanding is the novel. Too often in books there is a character who is standoffish or icy, and we don’t understand why anybody would like them, but it’s very clear to the reader who Ophelia (although Eve is the only one allowed to call her that) is and completely understand why Eve is truly delighted with her. I think if I have any complaint, it might be that the book pushes the thing with Eve’s sister a little too much, but that truly is a minor quibble. Overall, although the book does cover some lightly serious topics, it is overall very low-angst, but a delightful read. This is one I would rate 4.5 stars, b ut as I have to choose between 4 and 5, I say it tips more toward 5. I…