Three Simple Words

Three Simple Words is a look at the differing points of view that men and women have on one subject, LOVE. Wes sees romance as a tempting way to make money and bag women. As the author of a gritty, sensual bestselling book Wes is living the dream. Sex, money and women are his for the taking, but with success comes the fear of not being able to keep the momentum going. Annie believes in rainbows and happily ever afters. Her blog and business pay homage to the fairytale. Her heart belongs to romance, her censure belongs to Wes' book and it's distortion of love. Three Simple Words revisits the theme: "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus in this light read. It's funny to see after so many years, some things never change.

During a book signing, author Wes Harley notices a lovely woman, Annie Denning, who asks him questions. Wes is a best selling romance novel author, and his book is making women swooning with the hero’s sexual techniques; they all wonder if it’s autobiographical, even Annie. At 25, Wes has a best seller under his belt, “Down this Road”, but words haven’t been coming for months, and he has three days to send his editor 50 pages of his still unwritten second novel. Wes had moved to New York eight years ago, and while he is definitely not suffering from writer’s block, of course not!, still he decides to go back home to Chicago for a bit and see if inspiration will strike. Wes runs into Jeremy, his high school friend and Annie’s younger brother, who tells Wes that Annie’s small bookstore, Two Stories, is in a precarious financial situation, and if Wes could do a book signing, it would help a lot. Wes has nothing better to do, so he agrees, and he used to have a crush on Annie. And she is even better looking than he remembers! Annie remembered the teenager who used to hang with her brother, but Wes looks much better than she ever thought. The book signing is a huge success, and then two of Annie’s friends are getting married, she’s supposed to bring a plus-one, and said friends beg Wes to accompany her; reluctantly, she agrees, but Wes is thrilled: he’ll be able to make a move. Finally! A.J. Pine was a new author to me, and what a wonderful discovery this book was! I just love Ms. Pine’s writing style: her prose is understated, precise, and utterly delightful. The dialogues are brilliantly simple, the characters sound natural and young; everything invites you in their circle. The story is unpretentious, the pace is brisk, and everything flows so well, it’s a joy to read. It’s all the little details that make THREE SIMPLE WORDS magical instead of the predictable story it could have been. Annie has a blog, HappyEverAfter, and the blog entries are a very nice touch, there are humorous little things here and there, glimpses of a struggling author’s daily life, clever twists on familiar tropes, and what misunderstandings happen are very skilfully handled. The banter between Annie and her friend and account manager Brynn, as well as between Jeremy and Wes is terrific. THREE SIMPLE WORDS is a book I thoroughly enjoyed, it was one of the best surprises of the year, and I will be looking forward to A.J. Pine’s future offerings: THREE SIMPLE WORDS is worth every second of your time! I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

Another amazing return to the Kingston Ale House!! Annie is a bookstore owner who believes in happily ever afters. Her bookstore needs help though and her brother's best friend just happens to be a best selling author who agrees to do a signing on short notice. So what if she hated his book.... Everyone else seems to love it. Wes had a huge crush on Annie in high school and wants to show her that he's not the same kid he was back then. So, he doesn't believe in happily ever afters, that's not what either of them is looking for right now. This book can be read as a standalone but you should read the ones that came before it because they were equally as good as this one. I loved the check-ins with the characters from the previous books. Annie and Wes' banter was hilarious and these two couldn't be more perfect for each other. I'm really looking forward to Jeremy's story next!! *This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy.*