Betty Corrello, 2026. 4.5 Stars.
I was so happy to revisit the Jersey Shore and meet another Betty Corrello strong female who is going through a season, and this is in a charming Christmas setting. June is loud and angry and full-bodied, recovering from a divorce with a man who diminished her and then cheated to escape. Joey is a trainer and aspiring chef recovering from a ten-year relationship that ended bitterly. They meet and spar and start a friendship with a slow burn, but Joey wants more. The side characters are Italian and Italian-Cuban family and eccentric friends that help them to all embrace where they are in their life stages.
What I loved about this novel was the time spent with June being indecisive and being so angry about her divorce. We know there’s a romance ready to happen, but this was very realistic because June was not ready for romance. She is still recovering from a deep betrayal that continuously made her feel too large and undeserving of attention. There are parallels to her parent’s marriage and her place in her family that draw out her psychology and lived experiences, which help us understand why this is so terrifying. She then begins to get louder and eat freely and start loving Joey, and it’s beautiful. I’m very tired of romance books where the only barrier is trust, because it can be so two-dimensional. This is June analyzing her family dynamic and creating a drastic change to let Joey in. It felt very, very realistic with the shouting, the loud families weighing in, and the sibling dynamics.
And Joey – my fellow Cuban vegan, I can see you very clearly. His experience never feeling smart or successful enough and being a steady caretaker was layered on in each chapter, that we see how beautiful he is beyond that stallion head of hair. He’s into her instantly, I’ll grant that, but isn’t that what happens (often) in real life? I loved reading about him and his family and am sad this is the last Evergreen book, because I need some Mimi bonus content and I really appreciate the themes of untangling your mess by the shore.
I really can’t wait to hear this narrated by Joy Nash, who did the other Evergreen novels. I love Corrello’s books and listening to the audio versions is sublime, because Nash really embodies these strong, messy female leads and her male voices are delicious. I highly recommend revisiting the back catalog of Evergreen through Nash’s narration to see these brassy females get seriously loved.
Thank you to Betty Corrello, Cosmo Reads and NetGalley for the ARC to review early.
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