Since You’ve Been Gone

At the start of English author Knight’s debut, young widow Holly Jefferson shows no signs of moving forward two years after her husband Charlie’s fatal car accident. The renovations on her house remain unfinished and she buries herself in work at her bakery, Cake, leaving no room for a social life. When Holly takes a commission to create a bizarre cake for a real estate mogul (a gift from his ex-wife to commemorate the finalization of their divorce), she meets Ciaran Argyll, the man’s incredibly handsome, famously eligible son, and sparks fly. Though Ciaran has a reputation as a womanizer, his intentions toward Holly are different. Everyone in her inner circle—her sister, her eccentric neighbor, and even her dog—is charmed by him, but Holly is not so easily won over. Aside from her continued grief over Charlie, she knows she’ll never fit into Ciaran’s world, and she also knows how many beautiful women have their eye on him, including his former fiancée and his father’s icy, gorgeous mistress. Inevitable misunderstandings further clutter the path to true love. Despite all-too-familiar plotting and characters, Wright has an excellent sense of setting and pace. Romantics will find the book engaging and fun, and not even cynics will begrudge Holly her happy ending. (Aug.)