Much Ado About a Latte is the second book in the Maple Falls series. This time the focus is on Anita Bedford and Tanner Castillo – two classmates and present day coworkers. Both characters are ready to make their professional dreams a reality but as they do an unexpected tension forms. Anita has had feelings for Tanner for years but, he has never had feelings beyond friendship. Or at least that is the way it has always appeared on the surface.
Anita has always felt inadequate in comparison to her established and successful siblings. When she was younger she had to be tutored. Ironically her tutor was Tanner. She was often embarrassed by her diagnosis of dyslexia except for in front of him. She was able to let some of her walls down. He was always so sweet to her – it wasn’t hard to develop feelings.
Tanner is always looking out for everyone else around him especially his widowed mother. He became the man of the house at a very young age and since then has always tried to never let anyone down. It is because of this he kind of misses some of the things that are right in front of him. Yet once he does those things suddenly become his main focus and this is exactly what happens when his attention is brought to the beauty of Anita.
Anita and Tanner have tons of tension between them. This tension gets elevated when they are in close proximity to each other which is often as they work together and live in the same a town with the same group of friends. There are also some casual match makers around too. All of whom have only the best of intentions of course. I really do enjoy the small town vibe that is through these books.
Miscommunication plays a in Anita and Tanner’s dynamic as well. Both are trying to make changes to their lives but don’t want to say anything to anyone before things are ready. This secret keeping leads to multiple misunderstandings which creates some awkward and sweet scenes between the characters. It also showed the level of trust issues that each character has.
Much Ado About a Latte is a sweet continuation of the Maple Falls series. I enjoyed revisiting the town, seeing familiar characters, and getting to know them more. I loved how the characters of Anita, Riley, Harper and Emily kept working on a name for their friend group. They are a younger version of the Bosom Buddies – Maple Falls own group of long time best friends. Although this is the second book in the series, it is a book that can be read as a standalone. Reading Hooked on You will just introduce you to some of the dynamics of Maple Falls. I look forward to revisiting this small town soon.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
welcome to the zoo! 