Abby returns home to Ireland, homeless, jobless and dumped by her fiance. Her family know about the collapse of her employer’s business but she can’t find the words to tell them that she is now single and needs to find somewhere to live. Things are further complicated by a chance encounter with an old friend, Luke, who could be more than just a friend but he still thinks she is engaged…
The Rebound is a warm romantic comedy about the ups and downs of love and life.
Abby is literally at rock bottom. She arrives in Ireland to stay with her sister who she does not get on with. Work is in short supply and she is nursing a broken heart. Her former next door neighbour Luke has flourished into a hunk but is keeping his distance as he thinks she is engaged.
Abby knows she has to be brave and tell everyone the truth but the sibling rivalry with her sister, the romantic tension with Luke, and her general feeling of despair keep her silent. However, the writing style is light hearted and this keeps a softer tone to the book despite Abby’s obvious worries about her future.
I felt that the relationships were easy to relate to and understand, bringing the characters and plot to life. Miscommunication as well as lies by omission lead to comedic circumstances which thwart the romance of the two main characters.
The Rebound was an enjoyable novel which interweaves romance and gentle comedy.
The Rebound book description:
A newly single girl. A tall dark handsome stranger. What could go wrong?
It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday morning and Abby Reynolds isn’t where she wants to be. She wants to be in her beautiful loft apartment in Manhattan, drinking a coffee with her fiancé.
Instead, she’s heading back to the childhood home in rural Ireland she swore she’d never return to, with some big old secrets. Namely that she’s suddenly found herself unemployed, homeless, and absolutely 100% single.
She’s feeling all out of luck. Until the first person she meets after she touches down is an absurdly hot guy called Luke, who offers her a lift home. Gazing deep into his sparkling emerald-green eyes, Abby knows instantly that he’s exactly what she needs to take her mind off everything. The perfect rebound.
It’s a flawless plan. Until the next day, when Abby realizes who he actually is. Not just a stranger. He is, in fact, Luke Bailey, aka the boy next door. Luke Bailey who—so help her God—she’s pretty sure she once shared baths with, back when they were kids. Not that she can allow herself to imagine him in a bath now, not without blushing from head to foot.
And judging by the smirk on his face, the same Luke Bailey who’s known exactly who she was the whole time… And who, like everyone in the village, still thinks she’s a high-flying New Yorker… who’s getting married next year.
Abby is certain getting under Luke will help her get over her ex. But the truth is stopping her. Can she admit to everyone back home that she’s single and has lost everything? Because, if she wants the boy next door, she may just have to…
The perfect feel-good romantic comedy that will make you laugh until you cry and fall completely in love. Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, and Emily Henry won’t be able to put this down!
Author Bio:
Catherine Walsh was born and raised in Ireland. She has a degree in Popular Literature and the only prize she ever won for writing was at the age of 14 in school (but she still cherishes it.)
She lived in London for a few years where she worked in Publishing and the non-profit sector before returning to Dublin where she now lives between the mountains and the sea. When not writing she is trying and failing to not kill her houseplants.
