Dinner on Primrose Hill

Jodi Thomas — 2021

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas welcomes readers back to the picturesque Texas valley that cradles the town of Honey Creek--a place where friendship and warm welcomes can be relied on, and love always finds a way... Benjamin Monroe is pretty sure how his life will play out. He'll continue teaching chemistry in his small college, and spend his free time biking through the valley. Eventually, he'll retire to putter around in his garden and greenhouse. His colleague, Virginia Clark, is not one for routines. She's chatty, spontaneous, and bubbly, and before Benjamin realizes what happened, she's talked him into collaborating on a research project--studying the mating habits of college students. Virginia knows her desire to work with Benjamin is motivated by more than the potential prize money...and hopes he might not be quite as indifferent as he seems to be. Ketch Kincaid, one of Benjamin's star students, returned to college after serving in the army. He needs something to get his mind off his recent breakup and collecting research data might do it. And there's another distraction on the horizon--a woman who looks like she, too, knows about heartache. Soon enough, their project, "The Chemistry of Mating," is gaining notoriety. Friends, neighbors...the whole town has become involved. But no matter what the data determines, one conclusion seems inescapable: love follows its own rules...

Reviews

Kristen Claiborn@kristenc

Jan 7, 2023

This one was a tad disappointing for me. It completely drops the first storylines that we read about in the first two Honey Creek novels. While a few of the characters are mentioned, those stories are really not a part of this book, and I was kinda hoping they would be. I wanted to know how the mayor was doing…darnit. This book follows the love stories of three couples…all of which felt unnecessarily rushed. The romance between Ketch and Tuesday was just a hot mess from the beginning. Most adults are WELL aware that relationships started on the rebound are destined to fail, so this poor couple isn’t going to last (despite getting married and seeming to be happy). I’m sorry to fans of this couple, but psychology says Ketch wasn’t ready, he rushed into it and will regret it later. Benjamin and Virginia were destined to be together, so that relationship wasn’t really rushed per se, but man were there some oddities with their language. I am of a similar age as these two, and I wouldn’t speak to my man like these two spoke to each other. Also, I wouldn’t hesitate to have a hot make-out sesh in the truck at a secluded location (just ask him). I don’t put a lot of stock in “acting your age” attitudes, and most people my age don’t either, so I feel like there’s just not much realistic stuff going on with these two (I know, artistic license). And finally, Hank and Millie. What even went on there? There were about 15 minor storylines added to this one storyline and it seemed like it was pointless at the end. Why did Thomas even introduce that as a romance? The relationship between Hank and his dad is a minor storyline, the job that Hank does, the former co-worker that died and the kid he shares a guardianship with…there is SO much doing on with this one dude, it seemed like overkill. As the reader, I was well aware that Hank had responsibilities and commitments in Houston, so there was no way any long-term love between him and Millie would have worked out, so what was the damn point? Despite all of my criticism here, it’s still an ok romance. Jodi Thomas is pretty fluffy, and for many, that’s exactly what they want in a romance.