Before heartbreak shattered her romantic notions, Juliet Wilmont was a fervid romantic ready to chart her great love story wherever it would take her. Seven months have passed since she called things off with her emotionally abusive fiance and yet Juliet cannot find it in herself to put herself back out there with love and dating. During a brief holiday in Scotland, Juliet meets Will Orsino, who invites her to dance with him in a pub where sparks inevitably fly. Despite their obvious attraction, Juliet walks away and never assumes anything more from their brief meeting. The last thing she expects is for Will to turn up fast asleep in her family greenhouse when she finds herself caught in a downpour over half a year later– or that he is the college friend of their next-door neighbor, Christopher. As soon as she gets over her fright of seeing him again the two form a friendship that they quickly realize could have mutual benefits. Juliet wants to put herself back out there, but needs a trial run, while Will needs a safe space to practice romance before he wades into a real relationship. Practicing a relationship that already feels real puts Will and Juliet at odds, with the relationships they’ve resigned themselves to, and the real imperfect beating thing between them.
Once Smitten, Twice Shy closes out Chloe Liese’s Wilmont Sister trilogy, a series where she entwines Shakespeare’s plays with modern-day romances. Reimagining Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Liese entangles two opposites in a practice romance that verges on something more real than they ever could have anticipated. Juliet Wilmont, once hopeless romantic turned cynic, and Will Orsino, a shy and reserved highlander lookalike chart an unexpected way out of their romantic blocks by agreeing to partake in a practical dating experiment together. From the moment I read the first book in this series, I knew Chloe Liese had created something special and that has not changed from book one to now. Chloe Liese has become one of my favorite romance novelists. Her surefire depiction of contemporary love meeting all aspects of life from mental health, to chronic illness and neurodivergence is both powerful as it is necessary. In her third and final book in this trilogy, Liese showcases her capacity for flawed characters driven to better themselves contained within an effortlessly swoony romance.
Once Smitten Twice Shy, the third and final installment in the Wilmont Sister series offers up an emotional opposites-attract story combined with a fitting homage to Shakespeare. After ending an emotionally abusive relationship, Juliet Wilmont heads to Scotland on a much-needed holiday where a meet-cute in a Scottish pub sparks familiar flames, but ones she can’t hope to fan – not even for a gloriously tall redhead. Hopeless romantics who have turned cynical is a particularly heartbreaking character archetype within the genre and one that Juliet unfortunately embodies. As she steps out after an emotionally abusive relationship she navigates conflicting ideals of love and dating – her innate belief in sweeping love stories clashing with the dark kernel of cynicism instilled as a result of her former partner. But Juliet still believes in love’s possibilities, evident in her extensive historical romance collection and love of the genre. What she doubts is her own notions causing her to overlook flawed behaviors in potential romantic partners. As she practice dates with Will she rediscovers herself and learns that real love doesn’t mean you have to compromise yourself. Will in turn is impacted by his belief that he is a lot to take on as a partner. These competing views are challenged the further they wade into their practice romance and find that for the right person no part of yourself is ever too much to handle.
The representation of chronic illness continues to be a bright spot across this series. I love that Juliet learned to lean on Will when she needed it and that it didn’t focus on diminishing her identity. Owning her chronic illness through the use of her cane and speaking up around her family made me so unbelievably happy. Liese’s depictions of chronic illness and what it means to live as a chronically ill person within the sphere of contemporary romance are profoundly important and I can’t wait to read more from her. Once Smitten Twice Shy is a resounding ode to romance readers and those still discovering exactly what they want out of life and love. My favorite love stories are the ones that celebrate love as discovery and Will and Juliet embody that in the sweetest possible way. Remember that it’s love if she wacks him with a giant shovel and he still has heart eyes only for her (it’s romantic okay). Once Smitten Twice Shy brings a bittersweet conclusion to the Wilmont sisters series. Getting to the end of this trilogy has been an emotional experience and one I am not quite yet ready to leave behind, but I do know that Chloe Liese will be there to deliver more exquisite romances now and forever.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for review.
Trigger warnings: emotional abuse, ableism, anxiety
Literaryrobin 