Novella Review & GIVEAWAY: “Love in Three Quarter Time” by Rachel McMillan

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, everyone!

And, happy birthday to my author friend Rachel McMillan, who just happens to have a contemporary novella releasing today: Love in Three Quarter Time--congratulations are in order! Friends, join me in gushing over her beauty of a romance and enter the giveaway at the end for your chance to win a Kindle copy of the story for yourself!

Evelyn Watt fell in love with Austrian marketing director Rudy Moser the moment he stepped into their Boston firm. With his ice blue eyes and chocolate-melting accent, he is as refined as she imagines his home country to be. When Evelyn finds herself unexpectedly unemployed right before Christmas, she is left with an unknown future until Rudy steps in with a job appraising, assessing and cataloging heirlooms, lending her American vernacular to the translated descriptions to give each item international appeal. Evelyn will live in Vienna for the months leading up to a grand auction at a party held in conjunction with the Opera Ball—on Valentine’s Day.

Vienna is a magical blend of waltzing, antiques, and bottomless cups of Einspanner coffee at the Café Mozart. When a secret from Rudy’s family’s past blows in with the winter chill, Evelyn is forced to confront how well she knows the object of her affection. Her café tablemate, the gruff and enigmatic Klaus Bauner might be the only person who holds the key to Rudy’s past. But could that key also unlock her future? In the days leading up to the Opera Ball, Evelyn finds herself in the middle of the greatest romance of her life…as long as she doesn’t trip over her two left feet.

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Sometimes I approach story with routine as a “book blogger”, analyzing things along the way. This is a good habit because I have learned to perceive story differently. BUT, those rare books that just sweep me up to get lost in the story world are the ones that remind me WHY I love reading. Love in Three Quarter Time is such a story — an atmospheric and eloquent romance with poignancy and depth.

Love in Three Quarter Time is a discovery of self as much as a discovery of culture and history through the heroine’s eyes. Evelyn is relatable, introverted, caffeine-dependent, and very likable. Seeing Vienna (and briefly Prague) and its history through her eyes is one thing that makes the story so atmospheric and lovely. As she follows after Rudy and discerns her own heart, she starts to see that her romantic ideal just might be simpler and steadier that the showy dream she thought she wanted. I appreciated the way Rudy fit into the story and had a necessary purpose beyond being a foil for the hero.

And then there’s Klaus! ❤ HE is where the quiet and subtle romance begins to intertwine with Evelyn’s journey, with such an eloquence and spirit unique to Rachel McMillan’s voice and view of the world. Calling Klaus a gentleman and somewhat of a history nerd (who knows his Shakespeare and Brontë!) is the highest compliment. As Evelyn (and the reader) gets to know him more and more, she sees beyond his shell and into his endearing handkerchief-carrying nature, and he encourages and shows Evelyn her value in a way she has never experienced.

This is where the vulnerability and longings of the characters converge: in an idea of romance beyond a relationship between a man and a woman. That it can manifest in a love of travel, a joy found in little things in life like coffee and books and Waltzes, in tidbits of history and the legacy of a place. That romance can be found in life even apart from what we think we need in a “romantic” relationship. Evelyn and Klaus both see life in this manner. When they each realize the other is a kindred spirit that understands this concept without pretense, what results is a heart-stopping and joyous ending fitting for these two. ❤

This is a book to read with a cup of coffee! I smiled, sighed, and giggled my way through it in just a few hours. I loved the deeper and varied meanings of romance, the shared silence, my personal realization that Rudy was a “Mr. Collins”, the pastries and coffee and European history, and the Waltz lessons! Rachel McMillan’s heart is in her story, and it’s a beautiful work of art.

Click HERE to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Giveaway is for one (1) Kindle ebook copy of Love in Three Quarter Time by Rachel McMillan provided by The Green Mockingbird. Giveaway ends 2/24/18 11:59pm CT.