Every Little Thing: Hart’s Boardwalk, Book 2

Young’s second Hart’s Boardwalk contemporary suffers from some shaky characterization and a stock conflict between tradition and progress. When Bailey Hartwell walks in on her boyfriend of 10 years having sex with someone else, she dumps him and refocuses on self-care and making her inn a success. The last person she wants sympathy from is Vaughn Tremaine, the wealthy and conceited outsider who recently built a luxury hotel on the historic boardwalk of her resort hometown, Hartwell, Del. Their mutual hostility gives way to sexual connection when Vaughn saves her from an attack by the unscrupulous Devlin clan, who have their eyes on her inn. Despite the passion, both Vaughn and Bailey are incapable of opening up, and they always end up either arguing and falling into bed. This equivocation is a weak spot for the characters, who stray well beyond conflicted to unbelievably inconsistent. The arrival of Bailey’s spoiled sister, and Vaughn’s long absence to deal with other properties, provide additional drama. Young alternates viewpoints between Vaughn and Bailey, spelling out why they cannot commit and how they react to events. Despite some flaws, the plot unfolds evenly with sufficient intrigue and leads to satisfying conclusions for fans of contemporary small-town romances. Agent: Lauren Abramo, Dystel & Goderich Literary. (Mar.)