Neither Present Time

I liked the basic structure of this story a lot; the way the book brought the characters together and the links to the past. It's also nice to read a romance featuring professionals in their late 30s instead of the usual teens and twenty-somethings. The details about rare books and women's work during the second world war were interesting as well.

The primary characters were engaging and enjoyable, but nearly every other character was like a cartoon villain and it kind of sucked the joy out of the book for me. There are two cheating exes in this, as well as three needlessly cruel and domineering siblings and two sets of unpleasant parents (Beryl's parents are indifferent to her doctorate for some reason and then angry with her for getting a better paying job in her own field????). There are also two teachers who on multiple occasions make fun of an outcast student in one of their classes.

Also, for some reason, all of the scenes that take place in the present are written in past tense and all of the scenes that take place in the past are written in present tense. This was really confusing for a bit at the start.