A Windy City Romance – Book 2
Unwritten has a supremely hot friends-with-benefits plot whose conclusion embodies a Thomas Merton quote: ‘Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another’.
Harte’s latest book in the Windy City Romance series not only gives pause to Merton’s quote in the form of romantic love, but also the deep, unwavering love of the platonic kind found between friends and found family. I love that in each new installment it is clear Harte not only intends to give us the most amazing romantic pairings, but also a continued strengthening of those new and established bonds of friendship: a veritable cocktail of love, family and friends.
This time around readers get a completely different coupling from the likes of Gabe and Lori in Sanctuary. For starters, Shay is a stud and a proud Black main character, with familial expectations weighing on her psyche ever since the death of her much-adored momma. No strings sex is all Shay has the time and emotional bandwidth for. And then there’s Rosie, eternally craving “the one”, yet always falling short. But with a new career path, and a wayward leech of a mum to deal with, Rosie might just be one the market for some harmless, sexually loaded fun.
“Bullshit. You’d drop a carjack on any one of us to have one night with a woman like either of them”
Helena Harte, Unwritten
RB grinned. “I’d do that for one night with almost any woman”
Thus, Shay and Rosie’s story is one of uninhibited desire driven forth by the need for simplicity. But hidden beneath those spicy yet “straightforward” romps in the sheets, is a silent accumulation of emotion, stealthily simmering to a boil. And oh, what enjoyment there is to behold in watching this particular pot boil!
In between the scorching moments Harte still gives readers plenty of tenderness. As first Rosie, and they Shay explore what family and grief really means to each of them, and in the end when all is said and done, what they mean to each other. It is a reminder that everyone needs someone, sometimes.
Something that struck me immediately with Unwritten is that some of the plot overlaps with what happens in Sanctuary, but from completely new perspectives – in this case Shay and Rosie’s. Rather than feeling stale it weirdly, yet wonderfully, feels fresh – like you’re embarking on a completely new journey that’s also tethered to an already established core. I wouldn’t be sorry if every new book in the series runs onto the previous in this way: it’s unique, interesting, and a very well executed as a concept.
Two other things which starkly stood out to me in comparison to other Sapphic books I’ve read is firstly, Shay’s character is not just Black in name only. It is clear from Shay’s interactions, mannerisms, choices of words, and actions that her blackness is proudly and decisively on the page; as it should be. And secondly, Rosie’s journey through her grief communicates that feelings less steeped in sadness and loss, and more tainted by anger and indifference are equally as valid in that experience. Plus Rosie’s grief journey gets a very apt and darkly humourous conclusion. Just deserts springs to mind…
Their chosen family could be as dysfunctional as a blood family, but their bonds had been forged in the heat of war and were unbreakable.
Helena Harte, Unwritten
Unwritten firmly cements the already solid foundations previously laid down by Sanctuary. It offers another glimpse of what is sure to be a WOW-factor series, individually, and most certainly as a whole. I can’t help but submerge myself in the Windy City universe, and without exception completely invest in the characters that Harte is crafting into a freakin’ awesome series. If book three in the series was released tomorrow, it would be one day too long to wait.
I received an ARC of this book from Butterworth Books, in exchange for an honest review.
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