Review: Second to None

Second to None by Nancy Herkness
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Max Verala is a billionaire chemist who has just sold his business for an obscene amount of money. A blast from the past arrives when Emily Wade sweeps into his office. Seven years ago Max was friends with Emily and her Marine husband, but he dropped the friendship when he realised he had developed inappropriate feelings for Emily.

Seven years on and Emily is a widow with a young daughter. She runs a community centre for disadvantaged children and has a plan to give them confidence and love through a scheme with the local dog rescue centre but she needs $500,000 to buy an adjoining piece of land. In desperation she turns to her old friend.

As soon as he sees Emily Max is irrevocably as much in love with her as he ever was. But is it possible to start a relationship with your best friend's widow? And what future do they have when Max is leaving New York soon to live and work in Chicago?

I liked this but I didn't love it. Max and Emily were just too nice, too self-sacrificing, too perfect. The novella format didn't really allow us to understand the history between Max and Emily or the angst when Max realised he was in love with her. This was just too much like a Hallmark Christmas special for me, not even the dogs could muster that extra half point.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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