After an affair with a client's husband leads to scandal, private chef Devon Paige is left with only one client in Boston -a reclusive professional basketball player with a craving for cookies. With no other choice, Devon lands on the doorstep of Rockwood, a boarding school on the New Hampshire seacoast, taking a job leading their dining services. She is shocked to soon discover Kyle Holling on staff, who she hasn't seen in over fifteen years since a memorable night just before departing for college in different cities. Devon and Kyle must determine what their relationship looks like years later, all while dodging the cameras of an underground newspaper, dealing with the installation of a controversial campus sculpture, and grappling with the arrival of Devon's former lover's daughter as a newly-enrolled student.
When Devon meets a handsome paramedic named Heath, she ditches the possibility of romance with Kyle in favor of what appears to be a more straightforward relationship. But a trip to Los Angeles to keep her client well-fed ahead of his basketball game threatens to upend everything, forcing Devon to finally answer the one question she has been avoiding: Is fifteen years too late to rekindle a one-night stand? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
This is my first reading experience with this author, and it won’t be my last! I love books with characters who are belovedly flawed, and that is Devon all over. There is the understanding that while Devon doesn’t support a lifestyle of scandal and affairs, she has found herself amidst that very thing with her client’s husband, and the reader knows from the get go that while Devon is successful and enjoys what she does for a living, there is something missing from her life that has led her down a path she wouldn’t ordinarily take.
Armed with only one loyal client, she lands a job as the head cook in a boarding school kitchen, an occupation she’s never done and never really saw herself doing. It was fun to see her switch gears and go for something completely outside of herself, because that type of experience lends into character growth, and I saw a lot of that within Considering Us. Digging deeper into her past and how she was raised, by getting to meet her parents–one who has been very supportive, but the other has never let Devon feel good enough, not ever–along with Kyle, a former flame of hers who has felt like a lost opportunity, I felt like I learned so much about Devon and why she is the way she is, and how important her new job is to her. She has an opportunity to shape young minds while trying to figure out where she stands with Kyle, and how he could potentially fit into her life.
I loved the dialogue between everyone, particularly when Devon talks with Kyle. There is witty back-and-forth banter that made the experience fun, and I could feel the connection between them, and the camaraderie of their shared history. Heath reminded me of Chris Klein’s Dusty Dinkleman, from the movie Just Friends. It’s one of my favorite rom-coms, and I could totally see this overly sweet, seemingly perfect person–and they even share the same profession! And while Heath isn’t as much of a jerk as Dusty turns out to be, it seems everyone, including Devon’s friends and relatives, feels some type of way about Heath. He could be the safe choice–but who wants to play it safe?
I really enjoyed Considering Us. It was fun, and it was sweet. And I loved the connections–Devon and Kyle, Devon and her one loyal client (an epic scene between the two of them brought me to tears), and the friendship connections Devon makes along the way with some unexpected characters. It really was a joy to read, making it a five-star experience for me!
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