It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that made me laugh so hard that my husband wanted to know what I was reading. I had to read parts of it to him so he could laugh, too. While I have several books by Lily Morton in my digital library, Charlie Sunshine is the first one I’ve read.

The blurb is accurate and long so I’m just going to highlight some of the things that made me fall in love with this book. Charlie gets along with everyone while Misha is cynical, sarcastic and critical; they are perfect for each other and just don’t realize it. Friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes.

Charlie is a librarian and one of the library’s patrons – an older gentleman – borrows large print copies of Mills and Boons books (Harlequin in the U.S.) and writes his phone number in them. Charlie chastises the man but just can’t bring himself to stop letting the man borrow books. Later in the chapter, an older lady is returning a stack of books she borrowed and she and Charlie have a brief exchange:

“Those all coming back?”
“They are.” She leans close. “And I have to say there was a name and telephone number in the back of one of the books.”
“Oh, yes?” I say warily.
She nods. “I had such a lovely chat with the bloke.” She pauses. “Although he kept asking to see my zits. I’m not sure what all that was about.” She sniffs disapprovingly. “I’m a little too mature for acne.”

I thought I would die laughing. Now maybe it doesn’t come across as funny here in this review but trust me, this was just the beginning. Later on in the story one of Misha’s twin sisters has gotten into trouble for handcuffing herself to a railing at her school. Misha asks her where she got the handcuffs and here is what follows:

Anya shrugs. “Mum’s room. They were under her pillow.”
My mum gasps and turns bright red. “Oh my God,” she says faintly.
“Oh, sweet baby Jesus.” I sigh. The table bursts into bedlam as all three women in my family start to talk very loudly.

I hope that these two brief quotes are enough to entice you to read this really fantastic story. Charlie Sunshine may have been my first Lily Morton book but it won’t be my last.

Reviews for Lily Morton

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

“You staying for a while?” my mum asks from the seat at the head of the table. Even after all these years, I feel a tiny pang of surprise. It was my dad’s chair, and I can still see him there, his dark hair wild with him pushing his hand through it and laughing loudly. He was always laughing.

I blink the thought away and focus on her question. “Of course I’m staying. You summoned me, didn’t you?”

She sighs. “That makes you sound like a bloody demon.” She looks me up and down disapprovingly. “At least take your jacket off, Misha. You look like you’re about to approve me for a mortgage.”

“You do actually know what I do, don’t you?” I say, standing up so I can hang my jacket on the back of the chair.

She waves her hand airily. “It’s something to do with money. Anything else is a bit of a mystery. Sounds a bit like a gardening job.”

“I’m a hedge fund manager, not Alan Titchmarsh,” I say snidely.

She laughs, not a bit affected by my scowl. “Aunt Ava still asks if you can go round and trim her bush.”

“Good God,” I say and then falter because there are no words for the image she just conjured in my head.

Close Proximity Series

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥