New Uses for Old Boyfriends (Black Dog Bay, #2)

by Beth Kendrick

[girlinthepages]

The second book in the Black Dog Bay series is most definitely a companion novel, focusing on Lila, an adult who grew up in Black Dog Bay and is returning with her tail between her legs after a failed marriage and career. While returning to the seaside town and seeing it through the eyes of a native was definitely interesting, I found that it lacked some of the charm of the first book, where we got to experience all of the quirky break-up themed locations through Summer's eyes for the very first time.

Unexpectedly, New Uses for Old Boyfriends was not at its heart a romance driven novel. It's largely focused on Lila and her mother trying to climb out of a desperate financial situation after her father's death. Lila's mother used to be a model in New York before her marriage, and has the most STUNNING collection of couture clothing. Seriously, as someone who used to spend a lot of time thinking about pursuing a career in fashion, the descriptions of the garments in this book were breathtaking. I loved seeing Lila and her mother open their boutique and acquire such fabulous vintage pieces- I feel like I learned so much more about couture after reading this book! And although Lila's mother drove me crazy sometimes because of her HUGE case of denial about her finances, she was also so, so hilarious and I loved her crazy anecdotes from her time as a model in the 80s.

However, a huge part of why this book didn't work for me (to the point where it dipped into 2-star rating category) was the romance. I did NOT like the love interest, and find him to be rather surly and unlikable and I was really rooting for Lila and one of her other exes to get back together. When it became clear which ex the story was pushing her toward, I was skipping past the romance scenes as fast as possible because they just really grossed me out (not because they were explicit or anything, but just because I wanted to cringe because I was not a fan). Thankfully the book was mostly centered around Lila's relationship with her mother and their business endeavor so I didn't have to suffer through too much.

Overall: It was great to return to Black Dog Bay, but unfortunately doing so through the eyes of a local made it feel less like I was getting to know the seaside setting and more focused on the relationships in the book. I loved the family dynamics, fashion element, and incorporation of the characters from the previous books, but I really disliked the "winning" love interest. I'm still planning on continuing on with the series, however, because book 3 focuses on Jake Sorenson (the town scoundrel/rebound guy whom I love!)This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages