Once Ghosted, Twice Shy

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Synopsis

While her boss, Prince Thabiso of Thesolo was wooing the love of his life, Likotsi Adelele, his adviser and right-hand person, was off having a little love affair of her own with Fabiola C, a woman she met on a dating app. The pair seemed to fit together perfectly, but after three days of red-hot bliss, Fab unceremoniously dumped Likotsi over a text. Heartbroken, Litkotsi has never quite gotten over it, but seven months later and back in New York City, she's determined to put the past behind her. However, just as she's getting started on her mission, she chances to run into none other than Fab again on the subway. Fab asks to share just one cup of tea. Although tempted to say no, Likotsi can't help being curious about why Fab called off their relationship, so she reluctantly accepts the offer. One cup of tea turns into an entire day of exploring the city together just like old times, but as the day draws to a close, Likotsi knows that she needs more honestly from Fab if their reunion has any chance of turning into something more.

Review

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy is a contemporary romance novella that falls between A Duke by Default and A Prince on Paper in Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals series. However, part of the story takes place concurrently with A Princess in Theory. In that book, we were let in on the fact that Prince Thabiso's advisor and right-hand person, Likotsi, had experienced a red-hot, three-day love affair with Fabiola, a woman she'd met on a dating app while she was in New York City. It ended in heartbreak for Likotsi, though, when Fab basically dumped her over text. They haven't seen or spoken with each other in more than seven months, but now Likotsi is back in New York with the prince and has a rare day off in which she plans on returning to the places she went with Fab in an effort to exorcise her memory and get on with her life. While the train is stalled on the tracks, she chances to receive an AirDrop message from none other than the woman she hasn't been able to forget, who also happens to be on the same train. Hoping to gain some closure, Likotsi accepts Fab's offer to get tea, which turns into an entire day of sightseeing and once again, enjoying each other's company. A part of Likotsi doesn't want the day to end, but if they're to ever have any chance at genuinely rekindling their relationship, she'll need an explanation from Fab, which the other woman seems reluctant to give.

I liked both Likotsi and Fabiola as characters, and I also liked that they can find enjoyment in the ordinary things in life, as well as silly, little, niche things. But that said, I struggled a bit to make an emotional connection with either of them, mainly because I felt like their characters were underdeveloped. We already knew from Likotsi's strong supporting role in A Princess in Theory that she works for Prince Thabiso, keeping his life running smoothly with her superior organizational skills and rock-solid advice, but this story didn't let readers in on much more about her. We learn little to nothing about her family, friends, background, hobbies, hopes and dreams for the future, or even how she came to work for the prince beyond a mere throwaway line about being recruited to the position. The only new thing of note that I felt I learned about her is that she can be a little shy in approaching new relationships and that she isn't necessarily the dominant one, which was an interesting juxtaposition with her high-powered work role. Fabiola is better developed. She's an accountant who discovered a love for jewelry-making when her aunt bought her a kit as a girl and started teaching her how to do it. Fab would love for her jewelry-making to become a full-time business but she ended up having to put that dream on hold for a while due to family responsibilities. It's hinted at that those responsibilities are what caused her to break up with Likotsi, but we don't learn the specifics until very late in the story. While her reasons were sympathetic, when she finally relates them to Likotsi, there's just an easy acceptance on her part with no real questions or pushback on why Fab didn't trust her enough to be honest at the time.

I enjoyed the first two books of the Reluctant Royals, including Likotsi's supporting role in the first book. I'd always been curious about what happened with the woman who got away, so I was looking forward to getting the answers in this book. There were parts of Once Ghosted, Twice Shy that I liked, but unfortunately due to the lack of deep character development and a few other issues I had, it only ranked as an okay read for me. Until the final chapter of the book, the chapters alternate back and forth between Likotsi telling the story of their reunion in the present and Fabiola narrating their first meeting in the past. I struggled a little with this storytelling style because I had to reorient myself in the timeline at the beginning of each new chapter. It wasn't too bad, though, and I think I would have been able to give the book at least four stars if only I'd been able to make a stronger emotional connection to the characters and their story. Not only did I have issues with not feeling like I learned enough about the two heroines, but their romance is pretty subdued. Likotsi is understandably wary of Fabiola when they reconnect, and although she enjoys the day with her, the mysterious specter of what caused Fab to break up with her looms over the entire date. The scenes detailing their first meeting in the past were better because I could feel that instant connection they both felt, but just as things were starting to get interesting, the story would jump back to the present. As a result, I never got a deep sense of exactly what was connecting them beyond a physical attraction and a magical love-at-first-sight. Even the one love scene at the very end lacked the kind of sizzling passion I would have expected between two people who were supposed to be crazy about each other, reuniting after months apart. I was also a bit disappointed that none of the other characters from the series, not even Prince Thabiso or Naledi, put in an appearance. I don't want to make it sound like I disliked Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, because I didn't. I just felt like there were too many things that could have been better for me to give it a higher rating.

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Alyssa Cole

Themes

Reunion Stories