Review: Probably the Best Kiss in the World

Probably the Best Kiss in the World by Pernille Hughes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are British you probably recognise that the title is a riff on an advertising slogan for a well-known Danish lager, which kind of encompasses the concept of this novel.

Jen Attison works in marketing for a local firm which sells eco-friendly incontinence pads, it's not her passion, that's brewing her own beer, but it's local and she's good at it and it allows her to look after her younger sister Lydia who lost a leg in the accident that killed her parents. She has also been dating her bosses' brother Robert for the past six years although she has known him since she was a child when he and his parents came to her father's car repair shop or her mother's dressmaking shop. Robert came to Jen's assistance when her parents were killed and he has been a quiet supportive presence ever since.

When Robert springs a proposal on her Jen is surprised and a little bit shell-shocked, on her forced hen-weekend in Denmark she falls into a canal and is rescued by a gorgeous Danish man, called Yakob. Jen and Jakob spend the afternoon and evening together, talking about beer and Jen's pet hate, the global brewing company Kronegaard, which is headquartered in Denmark (any similarity to Carlsberg is probably intentional), they part on a kiss and Jen never thinks she will see Jakob again, until she runs into him at a brewing conference.

Her parent's accident has had a profound impact on Jen's attitude to life, making her risk-averse and leading her to seek security. She gave up her dreams of being a brewer to look after Lydia but will she settle for boring Robert and his plans for her to give up work and live in a big house by the golf course or will she take a chance on her heart and the mysterious Jakob?

I really enjoyed this, it was quirky, contained loads of detail about brewing and was a funny, light-hearted, feel-good romance. Jen wasn't perfect, as the novel progresses the reader discovers Jen is over-protective and controlling when it comes to Lydia and too passive when it comes to Robert and his (frankly) appalling family but she feels real, she makes human decisions and mistakes.

Recommended if you like quirky British romances about choices and following your passion.

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

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