Reserved - Book Review

By Tracy Ewens

Synopsis

If only life were as simple as making a reservation.

Makenna Rye Conroy was living the dream—with an amazing husband and a beautiful new baby daughter—when one night changed everything.

Almost six years after Adam’s death, Makenna and her daughter Paige have built a solid, happy life together. Makenna manages her brother’s trendy restaurant, The Yard, and helps out at Ryeland Farms, the family business, all while navigating the world of private school parenting. Sure, being a single mom has its challenges, but she hardly has time to pack her daughter’s lunch in the morning, let alone think about dating.

Travis McNulty, the middle child and biggest disappointment of the McNulty clan, is a chef at his best friend’s new restaurant. He gave up apologizing for not being the football hero his family wanted a long time ago. In fact, Travis apologizes for very little these days. He loves creating great food—it’s more of a passion than a job—and he lives life on his own terms with few complications.

For the past couple years, Makenna and Travis have worked side by side at The Yard, bickering, teasing, and never taking each other very seriously. That is until Makenna has her usual reoccurring dream; but this time, instead of her late husband as the featured man, Travis stands in his place. Travis may be attracted to his best friend’s sister, but she’s a widow and a mother, which tops the charts for complicated in his book.

As the game changes, Makenna and Travis, with a little help from Paige, have to figure out what they are willing to risk to reserve a table for three.

Review

RESERVED is a friends-to-lovers story between Travis and Makenna, who have known each other for a few years while working at her brother’s restaurant, The Yard. Makenna is a widow and a single mum who hasn’t been in a relationship since her husband died five years before, and Travis was left broken hearted by a woman years ago and has since turned into your typical manwhore. Makenna has never been interested in Travis as a potential lover or a father to her daughter, until she has a dream about him that kickstarts her libido.

RESERVED was a nice enough read, but I wasn’t overly happy with it. I was hooked for the first 20-30% and couldn’t put it down, but after that it seemed to fall apart. What started out as an emotional and promising read ended up being slow, boring, repetitive and weak. I liked both Travis and Makenna and thought they made a nice couple, but at times they annoyed me too. Makenna uses her mother’s abandonment as a reason to push Travis away the first time he makes a mistake, and Travis disappointed me when he decided to confront his family. He’s somehow able to get years of toxic torment off his chest in just one page, and he’s not even harsh about it. Talk about anticlimactic. RESERVED is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.