Once Smitten, Twice Shy

This swoony friends-to-lovers take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the third in Liese’s Wilmot Sisters series (after Better Hate Than Never), kicks off with a chance meeting—and almost kiss—between Juliet Wilmot and tall redhead Will Orsino at a bar in Scotland. The two meet again seven months later when Juliet finds Will asleep in her greenhouse, nearly attacking him with a trowel before he explains that he’s a college friend of her brother’s who got their neighboring properties mixed up. After these spark-filled first meetings, Will confides in Juliet that his family expects him to get married soon, even though he’s painfully shy around girls. He and Juliet make an agreement: through texting, social engagements, and unrelenting banter, she’ll help him learn how to romance somebody. But before long, they’re the ones falling in love. Liese’s breezy tone charms and she establishes an appealing flirtatious rapport between the two leads. Unfortunately, the focus on disparate intimate moments between the protagonists comes at the expense of narrative momentum, and the meandering plot lacks meaningful stakes. Still, the undeniable chemistry between Will and Juliet will be enough to hook fans of lighthearted romance retellings. (Jan.)