If The Shoe Fits by EJ Noyes is the third book in the Ask, Tell series and it is a beautiful slow-burn romance with a couple of steamy interludes that will leave you hungry for another sequel with these delightful women.
Jana Fleischer is living her best life because she has a loving and supportive family, an amazing sister and soon she’ll have the best sister-in-law known to humankind. She also has a rewarding career and a parade of eligible bachelors to choose from. She knows there’s a special element that’s missing from all of her pseudo relationships and her family knows something isn’t quite right as well because they keep going on and on about how fussy she is and they’re afraid that she’ll never have a real relationship.
When a simple collision and a broken heel brings Brooke Donnelly into Jana’s life, it doesn’t take much effort for Jana to set aside her irritation and her less than stellar first impression of Brooke. Jana is drawn to Brooke in ways she can’t even describe so she decides to forge a close friendship with Brooke because she wants to keep this incredible woman in her life. Jana always assumed that she was happy in all areas of her life but the more she hangs out with Brooke, the more she begins to realize that Brooke has that special something she’s spent her whole adult life searching for and she has a long list of failed romantic prospects to prove it.
Nothing in Jana’s life could have prepared her for the new and conflicting feelings she has for Brooke because she always thought that she knew everything about herself. She has never been romantically interested in women and she’s practically allergic to anything that resembles commitment. Jana knows that she has to make the first move and share her feelings with Brooke but most importantly, she has to be true to her own self and accept the fact that she is falling arse over tit in love with a woman for the very first time.
Will Jana and Brooke be able to risk their promising friendship just to satisfy a scorching attraction that might fizzle out quickly and leave them both badly wounded?
The Characters
Jana Fleischer is a lawyer and Brooke Donnelly is an architect. They’re both strong-willed and charismatic women who look like they have everything they could ever want or need but behind the scenes they’re both dealing with family expectations, tons of emotional baggage and love lives that leave a lot to be desired. This author has done a fabulous job of bringing Jana and Brooke to life for me because she has portrayed their good and not so wonderful qualities and I could easily relate to them. Noyes has described Jana and Brooke so clearly that I immediately began to see them in my mind and I even wondered what their voices would sound like when they made a few priceless wisecracks. Sigh… I’m seriously enamored with this author’s characters and her writing in general!
The Writing Style
Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy reading sex scenes written by this author? Well, if I haven’t boldly admitted this fact then let me rectify that right away and shout my praises to all the rooftops in the Caribbean. At this very moment, I’m raising my wineglass to Noyes because those sexy times between Jana and Brooke have caused me to take so many cold showers and now my water bill is higher than the three story apartment complex where I live!
I also adore the way this author has portrayed the realistic aspects of relationships and what makes them work because differences and flaws weren’t shown as stumbling blocks, instead, they were shown as unique personality quirks that made Brooke and Jana all the more endearing to each other and to me as well (wicked wink!)
The Pros
EJ Noyes has gone above and beyond to aptly portray Jana’s conflicting emotions, her intense and new found attraction to Brooke and the way she comes to terms with embracing who she truly is despite her fears.
While I was immersed in Brooke and Jana’s world, I wore a permanent smile on my face because this story emphasized the fact that a person’s sexuality isn’t cast in stone and using labels to define who you are isn’t necessary because love is love; it’s that simple.
The Cons
I’m just upset that Brooke, Jana, Sabine and Rebecca aren’t real women because I would have loved to meet them. By the way, if this story is really the last book in this lovely series I’m going to be so heartbroken because I’m rather fond of these women.
The Conclusion
I’m pretty sure you’ve all realized how much I adore this story because it highlights issues that are dear to my heart such as self-acceptance and the importance of having the love and support of your family and it’s even better if the love comes from friends who accept you even if your family doesn’t. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on all the awesomeness this book contains so feel free to catch up with Jana, Brooke, Sabine and Rebecca in this captivating novel!
Excerpt from If The Shoe Fits by EJ Noyes
“As I said, I’m very sorry,” she repeated. “It was an accident.” The widening of her milk-chocolate eyes enhanced the contriteness of her apology.
Sans three inches of Ferragamo heels, my eyes were level with the woman’s chin and it made me feel at a distinct disadvantage, adding to my discomfort and inability to really push my argument. No point in starting one anyway because as I’d just pointed out, I had to get to court.
I squared my shoulders and thought about the people in my office upstairs who could provide emergency footwear. One man and three women. I immediately ruled Will out, leaving me with Kelly our receptionist-slash-general errands person who was five-foot-nine and probably size ten; Erin our paralegal who was stylish as hell but with tastes leaning toward the masculine and therefore not quite what I needed; and Belinda who barely scraped five-two with a tiny foot size to match. And there weren’t any suitable shoe stores nearby. I was screwed.
After another quick mental trawl, I decided my only option was to snap the heel from the second shoe and hope for the best. A choked, sighing grunt escaped my mouth. “Absolutely fucking perfect.”
The woman took her time looking me up and down. “What size are you? Shoes,” she amended quickly.
“Eight.”
She exhaled. “Great, me too.” The woman slipped out of her two-inch black satin heels and pushed them closer with stocking-clad toes. “Here.”
“I can’t wear your shoes,” I spluttered. Wearing a stranger’s shoes was way too weird and more than a little gross. Still looking down, I noticed her toenails were a delicate shade of pink to match her fingernails. The color was quite pretty and at another time I might have commented on how nice it was.
The woman bent daintily at the knees and scooped up my heels, hooking her fingers in the backs to let them hang. The broken heel dangled mockingly. “Sure you can, unless you want to appear in court barefoot or hobbling. No athlete’s foot, I swear. I’ve got flats under my desk, so it’s all good.” She was already walking away, backward again. Obviously she wasn’t the type to learn from experience. “Just return those when you’re done… Cinderella.”
I glanced down at the shoes she’d discarded by my feet, then back to her. No choice really. “Where do you work?”
“Third floor. Office directly in front of the elevator. Ask for Brooke.” With that she slipped into the elevator, waving at me with my own shoes.
I stared at her until the elevator doors closed, then snapped into action, slipped into the borrowed heels and rushed out of the building. I’d never been late to court, and I wasn’t about to sully my record because of a ditzy latte-lover who couldn’t watch where she was going.
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Series
If I Don’t Ask
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781642470567
Publisher: Bella Books
E.J. Noyes Online
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