Review for An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson

An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 29th September 2011
Genre: Chick-lit, Romance, Seasonal Reads, Autumn, Adult Fiction.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Bought

Amazon Summary:
"After a bruising divorce, headstrong Juliet Miller invests in a flat and advertises for a flatmate, little believing that in her mid-thirties she'll find anyone suitable. But along comes self-employed copywriter Floz, raw from her own relationship split, and the two woman hit it off. When Juliet's twin brother Guy meets Floz, he is overcome with a massive crush. But being a shy, gentle giant, he communicates so clumsily with her as to give her the opposite impression. Guy's best friend Steve has always had a secret, unrequited crush on Juliet. After a night of too much wine, Steve and Juliet end up in bed, after moaning about the lack of sex in their lives. Convinced that Juliet doesn't feel the same way, Steve agrees to a 'just-sex' relationship, until they can both hook their dream partners. Just when Guy has finally plucked up the courage to tell Floz how he feels, he finds she has rekindled an old romance. Floz has never had much love in her life and is obviously thirsty for affection. She loves the whole Miller family, from Juliet and Guy's warm, loving parents, to their ancient one-eyed black cat. But can Guy turn Floz's affection for his family into something more - into love for him? Then Juliet makes a series of discoveries which will turn the lives of all four friends upside-down and turns that Autumn into a season where love can be harvested."

Review
An Autumn Crush is a complete breath of fresh air in the chick-lit genre. My bookshelves are groaning with summer reads, and cosy Christmas stories yet An Autumn Crush is my first book that celebrates the beauty of the season. I think autumn is by far our most beautiful season with the warm, golden tones of the leaves, the dazzling fireworks and sparklers and there’s that woody, cinnamoney smell in the air. Some days are beautiful with the last sunshine of summer and some crisp and fresh with the promise of winter. I absolutely love this time of year and enjoyed snuggling down as the early nights drew in with this book that really captures the beauty of the season.

An Autumn Crush is such a lovely read and completely heart-warming. The story centers around loveable divorcee Juliet, her gentle giant of a twin brother Guy, Steve- Guy’s best friend, and latest addition to the group Floz Juliet’s new flatmate. As you can imagine the foursome get thrown together quite a lot! But even though Juliet and Steve, and Guy and Floz are perfect for each other- something any reader can see from the start!- the boy’s huge crushes on the girls lead to many a mishap and clumsy misunderstandings making them less than desirable to Floz and Juliet! I really loved all four of our main characters but Steve and Guy really stood out to me which was a nice change for a chick-lit novel. They were both total sweethearts and I became so endeared towards them as they tried and failed to impress the girls. Each character in this book has had a really tough time of it each with a less than perfect past and so I really wanted the best for them and for them to find a bit of happiness- especially with each other!

As well as the fun and vibrant foursome there are some really fantastic secondary characters in particular Juliet and Guy’s parents and Juliet’s gay best friend Coco. The book also tackles some difficult themes such as alcoholism and mental illness but that is also counterbalanced with some very funny and heart-warming moments and doesn’t take away from this books ultimately uplifting feel.

An Autumn Crush is my favourite book that I’ve read by Milly Johnson so far. Although this book is ultimately a romance it also has strong themes of parenting, family and friendship too. The book is written like a dream with some gorgeous Autumnal imagery. An Autumn Crush was an absolute joy to read and the perfect book to celebrate the season with.