If I Loved You Less

I'm a huge fan of Austen, and Emma in particular. I'm also adore age-gap romances and friends-to-lovers, and really enjoy this author. So this book promised to be my entire alley of happiness. I'm not sure if perhaps my expectations were just too high, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. On the positives, the author gives a very fair disclaimer at the beginning that this series is not a retelling of Austen's works, but a "kind of inspired by" concept. She's using a small group of people throughout the series, so you'll find characters re-purposed as key catalysts in the stories. I thought it was quite a clever story device which enables the reader to revisit with characters from book to book. Emma is 26 in this iteration, with Ward (Knightley) a robust 39. Ward walks the line between friend and borderline bossy older brother. To be honest though, Ward wasn't my issue. Emma I struggled with. She seemed chronically lost in the world and all too ready to determine that all those around her thought her to be an idiot (her word, not mine). It was a frustrating feature when it was made clear she was beloved by all she had contact with. And in his efforts to console Emma, Ward was all too willing to decide everything was his fault, when it most certainly wasn't. Some basic info - dual POV, some open door sexy times (though as always with this author, tastefully done), and minimal grammatical distractions. On the whole, while it was a pleasant enough read, it just felt like it missed the mark for me. Ah well! Always next time!

Ward has known Em since she was born. Thirteen years older with a divorce behind him, he carries the weight of the Knightley’s on his shoulders. But Em’s newest task to help a friend find her way in life has him trying to get her to see that she’s forcing her own expectations on the girl. And as their confrontations grow more and more heated, he’s beginning to see Em in a different light. ”He’d wanted her so much. Now that he was conscious of it, he couldn’t make himself forget or ignore it. And it seemed to get stronger every time he saw her.” Em is everyone’s friend. She’s caring and giving and is always willing to help someone in need. When her latest project causes a clash between Ward and herself, she is fed up with the way he always views her. She is not a child and should not be lectured to, but that’s how Ward has always seen her. But when she suddenly sees him in a different light, things begin to change. I really enjoyed getting to know Ward. He is very controlled and definitely bossy, but he’s also determined to change his lecturing ways if it will keep Em in his bed. His divorce has left him scarred and therefore he tends to cut Em out before she can do the cutting. This added to the angst between these characters. The fact that Em had her mind set on how her life would play out was another hurdle that they had to overcome. She did grow and develop to the point that she was able to see what she was doing with some of her good deeds and it was heartbreaking when she realized it. Both Em and Ward evolved into individuals that were ready to take the next step in a relationship. The age issue was never really a problem, for which I’m glad as this couple had enough to contend with to throw that into the mix. As all of this author’s books, this is fast paced without long drawn out inner monologues. The steam level here was more than I was expecting, I’m not complaining, and showed that Em and Ward definitely had the chemistry thing down. Overall, this is a great book that will leave you with a smile on your face and “feel good” vibes in your heart.