Having read Sweet Pea Summer in which Annie played the role of a subtle matchmaker, I was curious to read her story in The Perfect Hideaway.

The Perfect Hideaway

Annie Martin is thrilled to have moved from the hectic buzz of L.A. to the small town of Hillsboro, Northern California, where the most happening bar only plays honky-tonk and nowhere does a good matcha latte. But the best thing about Hillsboro? The Anderson sisters. At their noisy family dinners, Annie can almost forget the mistakes she made back in the city, trying to fit in.

Annie has repaid the sisters’ friendship with some obvious-but-effective matchmaking and now there’s only one Anderson still looking for love. But Rose is surprisingly prickly about an enforced happy-ever-after, and when a meticulously planned meet-cute ends drenched in the town fountain, Annie realizes this project calls for someone with a deeper knowledge of the Hillsboro bachelors.

Local reporter and all-around grouch George Barnett has been a thorn in Annie’s side since she came to town. He knows all too well that everyone has secrets and he thinks the story of why social media darling Annie Martin swapped stilettos for sneakers might be the scoop that makes his career. Annie is sure her skeletons are under triple lock and key, so she offers him an exclusive, if he’ll help her find a match for Rose.

But the more George and Annie try to control the love lives around them, the less they’re able to sway their own hearts. As Annie’s infectious laugh begins to bring down George’s barrier of surliness, can he open his heart and let her in for real? And can Annie be brave enough to trust the man who could be her future, with the secrets of her past?

A heart-warming story of friendship and finding love in the most unlikely of places, fans of Robyn Carr, Debbie Macomber and Carolyn Brown will adore The Perfect Hideaway.

Having been introduced to Annie in ‘Sweet Pea Summer‘, I was at first a bit taken aback by how she was portrayed at the start this book. In the earlier book, she struck me as a confident woman who could charm and trick her way into getting people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do! But she always used this for good. However, in the Perfect Hideaway, the author shows us an Annie who is haunted by her past and is desperate to get other people to like her. Having hidden behind so many layers, and trying hard to live up to her Instagram celebrityhood, Annie has forgotten who she really is.

When her brother, Luke, gets married, and she moves out of their home, Annie is confronted with her own loneliness and confusion as to how she should spend her time. At Luke’s wedding, she bumps into George – a reporter who is after finding out the ‘real’ story behind Luke and Annie’s wealth and motives. When Annie decides to turn her sights on setting Rose ( the last unmarried Anderson sister) up with someone, she recruits George to help her. In return, she offers him an interview with Luke.

Both Annie and George are equally drawn to and repulsed by each other. Their past experiences keep them from trusting each other as well. The characters of George and Annie are very likeable, strong and well defined. The other characters in the story especially Rose Anderson, Mynette and Mr Barnett are lovely too.

I enjoyed the banter between Annie and George and their soft hearts that they try hard to cover! How they find love, acceptance and healing in each other makes for a really sweet story.

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Author Bio

Alys Murray is an author who writes for the romantic in all of us. Though she graduated with a degree in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London, her irrepressible love of romance led her to a career as an author, and she couldn’t be happier to write these stories! Currently splitting time between her home state of Louisiana and London, she enjoys kissing books, Star Wars, and creating original pie recipes for all of her books. Tobey Maguire is her Spider-Man. 

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I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book which I received from the publisher, Bookouture via NetGalley.