Book Review: Macarons at Midnight by M.J. O'Shea and Anna Martin

Tristan Green, an expatriate from England, is trying to advance his career in advertising at a big agency in New York City. He's not entirely happy with how things are going in his life, but he's stubborn and doesn't want to be viewed as a failure. One evening, while walking around his neighborhood, Tristan stumbles upon a quaint bakery and its handsome owner, Henry Livingston.

Henry worked hard to build his business from the ground up even though he came from a family of wealth and connections. He doesn't feel comfortable in that life, which is evidenced by his strained relationship with his WASP parents. When the bumbling and painfully adorable Tristan comes into his life, Henry feels things he's never felt before. Could it be too good to be true?

This is an extremely sweet story. The slow build of Tristan and Henry's relationship was really cute to watch. Their playful banter back and forth brought a smile to my face and made me chuckle more than once. The authors did a great job of creating characters that made me care about their well-being and root for their success.

I couldn't stop my mouth from watering while reading about all of the incredible baked goods Henry created. I love the fact that the book includes recipes for many of the confections described by the characters, and I can't wait to try some of them out.

Unfortunately, I did have a few issues with the book.

• The build up and development of Tristan and Henry's relationship was so detailed and well-thought out that I was a little shocked by the "big misunderstanding," how the drama played out, and ultimately the abrupt and unfinished ending. Readers spent at least three quarters of the book, maybe more, seeing the incredible dynamic between the two MCs, so I felt cheated that the conflict was not given the same attention.
• Why was Henry so quick to believe Jordan over Tristan, whom he'd known, spent time with and loved?
• I was very disappointed that Jordan got away with his douchebaggery. Sure, that happens in real life, but he never had to pay for any of his wrongs. He was a jerk from the moment he was introduced and it seemed as though he was just a character thrown into the mix to shake things up.
• Tristan's inability to explain himself during the big misunderstanding really irked me. Everything could have been fixed if he'd just explained things to Henry from the very beginning instead of giving silly one-word answers and sad looks of contrition. Henry's no better with his jumping to conclusions and refusal to hear Tristan out when he finally tried.
• The thing that really surprised me was the ending. There really wasn't much to it and the problems between Tristan and Henry seemed unresolved. I was expecting at least another chapter since the explanation for the big misunderstanding happened so fast. I'm really hoping there is a sequel because I was left wondering "what happened?"

 
All in all, this is a nice, sweet read. I enjoyed the characters, the locations and the recipes. However, the unresolved (barely) HFN ending disappointed me.

Buy Links
Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

~ M