Chez Maximka: The Only Exception by Claire Huston

Tuesday 7 June 2022

The Only Exception by Claire Huston

"...she's always said true love is nothing but a palliative fiction and marriage is an outdated patriarchal institution which only continues to survive thanks to a romantic mythology which furthers the cynical economic interests of various industries".

"So, you don't believe in true love?"

"Not in any magical, mystical force that makes the world go round. No."

"But as a temporary effect of serotonin, adrenaline and..."

"Dopamine."

Lucinda Green, the main character of The Only Exception by Claire Huston, does not believe in love. Brought up by her Mum to dismiss all things romantic, she is one determined lady. Lucinda works hard, and while she is ready to take risks when it comes to her catering business, the matters of the heart are a different thing altogether. She still lives with her ex in the house, which they bought together, more out of convenience than any hope to rekindle the non-existent passion.

Lucinda doesn't mind the stagnant impasse that much, as she doesn't believe in true love, so what then makes her so edgy and unsettled?

Alex Fraser is an actor who is also career-driven, with a lacklustre personal life. His current girlfriend Nicole is a social media-obessessed influencer, with the acting aspirations and a big ego. Different in age and quite incompatible in their lifestyle, it's hard to see what has brought them together in the first place. Nicole appears quite immature and slightly manipulative, though ultimately harmless. Their relationship has reached a lethargic stage, where it's holding back both.

You can say that both Lucinda and Alex are at the crossroads in their personal lives.

Fate brings then together one inauspicious day, when Lucinda and Alex find themselves stuck in the lift with an elderly lady having a heart attack. It is up to them to do the CPR until the ambulance arrives. At first, Alex simply freezes, until Lucinda shakes him out of it. Under pressure she snaps and bosses him into action. Understandable, given the circumstances. But not exactly the most favourable first impressions.

They meet again, at a catering event, and Lucinda's bizarre and quite rude behaviour doesn't win her any fans. "...forgetting her was proving extremely difficult. The crushing disappointment he'd experienced when she'd dismissed him and his profession in such a callous way continued to sting. For a foolish moment he'd believed there could be a genuine spark between them but then she'd shown herself to be a rude, judgmental, dismissive cow who looked down on acting as some sort of mucking about which failed to meet her superior standards for a "proper job".

Carol, the woman whom Lucinda and Alex have saved in the lift, turns out to be a patronising busybody. When she invites them to her house for tea, supposedly to thank them for saving her life, she confesses that she has hired a detective to check out their background, as they could be thieves. As if that is absolutely normal, she then proceeds to interrogate them about their single status with a dogged determination of someone who doesn't care if they hurt anyone's feelings. An ungrateful condescending cow, if you meet one. And her granddaughter Vee is not much better. Lucinda rightfully calls the duo "the Berkshire Inquisition".

The afternoon tea party and the following search for the snappy yappy little dog of Vee in the vast grounds of the mansion turns out to be insightful and full of revelations. At loggerheads at first, Lucinda and Alex begin to appreciate each other's points of view.

Alex happens to be smart, funny and also vulnerable. But does it matter? After all, as a rule Ludinda doesn't believe in all that "The One" nonsense. However, isn't there an exception to every rule?

Both main characters are in their late 30s-early 40s, and have an emotional baggage of their own. In their case, it springs from childhood. Lucinda has been abandoned by her father who was her hero. Her mother, hurt and embittered, has tried to instil in her children that love doesn't exist, it's just the matter of chemical elements working in your body. This hurt caused by someone who she believed loved her, stays unresolved in Lucinda's mind, and she carries this pain through her life, unable to trust anyone to become her soulmate.

In Alex's case, he watched someone very close to him die in front of him, when he was a young child. These scars stay with him.

The romantic tension is in the air from the word Go, but it will take a while for the characters to open up to the possibility of anything romantic between them.

The Only Exception is an entertaining, lighthearted, immensely enjoyable romantic comedy.

This is the second book in Love in the Comptons series. It was lovely to see one of the main characters from the previous book making her appearance, albeit very briefly. This book reads as a standalone, tied with the previous one by the setting and the theme of romance.

The book will make a fun summer read, whether lazing on a beach holiday or daydreaming in the garden. The story is easy to get into, well-paced. Claire's books are full of gentle humour, quick-witted banter and some sarcastic observations regarding the human foibles (social status, obsessive social media etc).

It's a 5/5 from me, and if I could, I'd add an extra star for the delectable food descriptions. No suprise here, as Claire's sweet bakes are legenadary.

Pre-order Link - getbook.at/TheOnlyException

Publication Date: 7^th June (Congratulations, Claire!)

Author Bio:

Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. She writes uplifting modern love stories about characters who are meant for each other but sometimes need a little help to realise it.

A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for over a hundred sweet treats at clairehuston.co.uk. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.