How I Wonder What You Are by Jane Lovering

Book Blurb:

“Maybe he wasn’t here because of the lights – maybe they were here because of him …”

It’s been over eighteen months since Molly Gilchrist has had a man (as her best friend, Caro, is so fond of reminding her) so when she as good as stumbles upon one on the moors one bitterly cold morning, it seems like the Universe is having a laugh at her expense.

But Phinn Baxter (that’s Doctor Phinneas Baxter) is no common drunkard, as Molly is soon to discover; with a PhD in astrophysics and a tortured past that is a match for Molly’s own disastrous love life.

Finding mysterious men on the moors isn’t the weirdest thing Molly has to contend with, however. There’s also those strange lights she keeps seeing in the sky. The ones she’s only started seeing since meeting Phinn … 

My Review:

How I Wonder What You Are is a unique, entertaining, and heart felt story about two people who are hiding from their pasts, unable to move on.

I really liked the English country side setting Jane took me to in How I Wonder What You Are.  Her descriptions of the small town of Riverdale, the stars, and the moors are so vivid.  As I read I got the sense that this is the perfect place for Molly and Phinn to be at this point in their lives.

Molly has been hurt and keeps her past private, even from her close friend Caro.  She has a heart of gold though, and this is is evident from the hilarious start to the story.  Molly was very intriguing and Jane did a great job of bringing her past up at the right times in the story, and I felt like I got to know her well.  Molly starts off kind of stuck in where she is, but as the story grows, so does Molly's character.

Phinn is so different from most hero's in romance books!  He is very scarred emotionally from his past, so scarred that he is kind of stuck there too.  He is brilliant but insecure, and certainly doesn't feel like he will ever be good enough for anyone.  It was sad but I liked this unique hero.

Both characters come together in Riverdale, and very slowly individually they grow and together a tenuous bond is formed.  As the stars dance around them though, so do their emotions and the misunderstandings of people who have been hurt before.  I felt very vested in watching Phinn and Molly heal and finally start to move forward.  I felt like they were a couple who would be good together if only they could take the chance again.  Neither of them are perfect and the road to the future is very bumpy which makes what they are going through realistic.

I really liked Caro!  She is an incredible secondary character who tells it like it is, is hilarious, and tries to help Molly put things into perspective.  I would love to read more about her!

Family dynamics are explored which adds even more dimension to How I Wonder What You Are as you learn more and more as the story progresses.

I also really liked the way Jane wrote in both first person POV and third person POV!  She did this seamlessly and I felt like it really brought the characters to life, and drew me into the story easily.

How I Wonder What You Are kept me laughing but it also made my heart ache a little for Molly and Phinn.  The glimpse of supernatural was a unique addition and done in just a way to make me think of the possibilities.  Jane wrapped up my heart in How I Wonder What You Are with great character dynamics in a great setting with so many interesting scenarios.  I'd recommend How I Wonder What You Are to any romance reader!

4/5 stars

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