TBR Challenge: Third Time’s the Charm by K. Evan Coles
This month’s TBR Challenge prompt – “tropetastic!” – initially had me looking for something using a bonkers trope or something way out there, but my Kindle didn’t yield anything along those lines, so I ended up going with a well-written, character-driven romance featuring the single dad trope (kind of) by an author I’ve discovered fairly recently, but whose books have generally worked well for me.
Third Time’s the Charm is billed as book one in K. Evan Coles’ Boston Seasons series, but even though it was published in 2019, the author doesn’t appear to have followed it up – which is a shame, as this is an enjoyable, ‘quiet’ slice-of-life story featuring interesting, well-developed, grown-up characters and a romance with believable conflicts that requires them to have real conversations about their problems and differences.
Software developer and business owner Luke Ryan is stretched incredibly thin. Between the demands of his job – he co-owns a company with two old friends – and caring for his ten-year old niece, Ella, while his brother is deployed (after her mother walked out on them), he doesn’t have a lot of time to himself, and certainly not enough time to date. But that’s okay. He loves Ella and being there for her, and he’s only too happy to be able to do something to help his brother… and besides, any guy he’s liked recently hasn’t been interested in taking on a ready-made family and he’s kind of made his peace with that.
Trauma surgeon Finn Thomason has recently relocated to Boston (from Chicago). He’s been staying with friends while he finds his feet in the city, but has just found an apartment he likes close to the hospital and is about to move in. His job is stressful and demanding – but ultimately rewarding – and while it doesn’t leave him a lot of room for a personal life, he’s decided the move is a good opportunity to at least try to achieve a better work/life balance.
Luke and his friend are in the queue at Starbuck’s one morning when Luke notices the hot guy standing just behind them, and can’t help smiling at him. The guy smiles back, but before either of them can say anything, Luke’s order is called, the hot guy takes a call… and the moment passes.
But fate is a stubborn bitch. Later that day, Luke gets caught in the rain as he’s on the way to his regular Friday night dinner with Ella and his friends, and takes shelter under the awning outside an apartment building – and Finn is just walking out. Recognising each other from the coffee queue, they strike up a conversation and realise they’re both heading in the same direction; Finn offers Luke shelter under his massive umbrella as they walk, and when they arrive at the restaurant Luke is going to, Luke suggests a coffee date and they exchange numbers.
With school on summer break and Ella spending more time with friends and family, Luke and Finn find time to go on a few dates, have a few sleepovers, and become close. Finn makes it clear that he understands Luke has a lot of family responsibilities and that while he’s not shying away from them, he wants to take things slow to give himself time to get used to them, and while Luke is okay with that, he can’t help worrying that Finn will eventually get tired of being with someone whose attention is so often pulled in many different directions. And when Ella returns to school weeks later, it seems like the worst is coming true as Luke once again fulfils the roles of chauffeur, cook, homework-helper, and everything else, and it becomes harder and harder for him to find time for Finn, whose schedule is equally demanding.
Finn really is sympathetic to Luke’s situation and genuinely wants to be with him, but it’s not pleasant to feel like he’s always coming in second best. If there’s a Big Bad in this story, it’s life doing what it does and getting in the way of what we want at the very worst time, as Finn and Luke struggle to devote enough time to their relationship and each other and to work through the breakdown in communication that comes along with it.
Often, in single-dad romances, the child(ren) immediately take to dad’s new partner and welcome them into the family unit, but something that sets this book apart is that Ella doesn’t immediately bond with Finn and is, in fact, quite cold towards him. Luke approaches things in the right way in that he doesn’t pressure her into accepting Finn or his new relationship, but he knows right away that she’s not happy that he’s seeing someone; she’s not bratty or openly hostile, but she’s not warm towards Finn, and it’s clear that her ‘disapproval’ could be a real stumbling block for them. Luke doesn’t really know what to do and can only hope that perhaps time and familiarity will bring her round and that when her dad returns from overseas things will get better; he’s trying to do the best for everybody involved while losing sight of what’s best for him.
The secondary characters are well-rounded, and I liked that both men have sets of long-term friends they socialise with and confide in – and who are able to give them a kick up the backside when they need it! Ella is a believable pre-teen – a bit precocious and a bit silly – she’s a good kid with a lot of love to give who is simply scared of being hurt again.
Third Time’s the Charm is a fairly low-angst romance that explores the difficulties of building a relationship amid the demands of jobs, family and friends. Luke and Finn make a great couple and the situations they face feel realistic; there’s a bit of miscommunication at one point, but they approach it like adults, think about what they want and talk things through. It’s a solidly entertaining read and I’m happy to recommend it.