Just Trouble is the fabulous first book in Deborah Cooke’s new contemporary romance series, The Carpé Diem Café and I hope other readers love it as much as I did and look forward to seeing more of the series.
After the death of his closest friend, famous rock star, Luke Jones, returns to his hometown of Empire, a small town in Ontario Canada, to right some wrongs from his past. There he encounters his half-sister’s childhood best friend, lawyer Daphne Bradshaw, who returned to Empire from Toronto after a broken engagement, and is now working at her father’s law firm. Enlisting Daphne’s aid in his endeavours, it soon becomes clear that there is an undeniable attraction between the two, and watching them work out their individual issues and come together is a real treat.
I will admit that in the beginning of the book I kind of disliked Luke and his bad boy, one night stand lifestyle, to me he sounded like a jerk. I wasn’t sure how the author could redeem his character to make him worthy of Daphne, but I shouldn’t have doubted.
Having grown up in a small town in Ontario myself, I really enjoyed the setting in this book and the sense of community, and how everyone knows everyone. That aspect strongly reminded me of my own hometown.
The book is written in first person, present tense, which I admit didn’t thrill me as it’s not my favourite perspective, but the author made it work, and I enjoyed the story regardless. The chapters alternate between Daphne and Luke so we get to see the thoughts of both of them throughout the book which I appreciated. I loved seeing the thought processes and emotions from each of them, rather than getting the perspective of only one of the characters.
Just a warning, if you’re anything like me, you’ll need to have a box of tissues handy near the end of the book. I was unexpectedly brought to tears and was totally unprepared.
We were introduced to so many great characters in this book, I’m so excited to see the future books in this series. I’m really hoping that Daphne’s friend, Rafe, gets a story, I would love to see him fall, (and hard) especially after his little speech to Luke about his ideal woman.
If you love a good small town, steamy romance, you might want to give Just Trouble a try!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Just Trouble was available as of February 18 2025.
Life, Tea, and Everything 