REVIEW

Love in Tandem

by Becca Kinzer

I Recommend!

4 Stars

GoodReads Kindle Unlimited

At a Glance

Published04/01/2024

GenreContemporary Romance

SubgenreChristian Fiction, Closed-Door Romance

FormatDigital

GoodReads3.86

My Score4

Spice LevelNone

Book Summary

She’s perfectly content leading a quiet life in her small hometown. He’s an adventurer with unquenchable wanderlust. The two couldn’t be any more opposite if they tried. But a tandem bicycle and a 500-mile road trip just might change all that.

After a failed engagement and her mother’s battle with cancer, Charlotte Carter’s life is finally turning around now that she’s landed a dream job teaching music. What she didn’t see coming was the imminent closure of the school’s music program. She’s determined to save it, even if it means getting creative. There’s no way she’s chalking this up as just another failure in her book of recent embarrassments.

Zach Bryant is back in town just long enough to see his brother Ben get married, and then he’s off traveling the world again. He never imagined he’d run into Charlotte Carter, his brother’s ex-fiancé, or that everyone would believe he and Charlotte are an item. He certainly didn’t dream he’d end up riding a tandem bicycle hundreds of miles with her in an attempt to raise funds for a defunct music program, but how can he say no when the prize money would help him out of his financial predicament too?

Charlotte is sure she can set aside her differences with Zach long enough to cross the finish line and win the giant cash prize . . . can’t she? A few hundred miles in, she’s questioning her deeply held assumptions about Zach and wondering if maybe tandem biking is only the start of their biggest adventure yet.

[summary provided by GoodReads]

My Review

4.5 stars

I love Becca Kinzer’s writing style. Her books always make me laugh, which is exactly what I’m looking for in a lighthearted summer romcom. This was a sweet, hilarious, and thoroughly entertaining romance with just the right touch of faith woven throughout. It’s completely clean, with no language or spice.

Charlotte was such an easy character to root for. Despite having her heart broken and facing the possibility of losing her job as a music teacher, she maintains an optimistic outlook that makes her instantly likable and easy to connect with.

When Charlotte unexpectedly reconnects with her ex-fiancé’s brother, Zach, the laughs begin almost immediately. They find themselves in a fake dating arrangement, one of my favorite romance tropes, and the chemistry between them is delightful. Things become even more chaotic when they enter a 500-mile tandem bike race in hopes of winning enough money to save Charlotte’s music program. As you can imagine, just about everything that can go wrong does, leading to one hilarious mishap after another.

I laughed out loud throughout this book. Between the nonstop biking adventure, witty banter, swoony moments, and personal growth, there was never a dull moment. I especially loved watching Charlotte and Zach learn to trust each other and work together as teammates before their relationship began to deepen. Their chemistry was fantastic, although I did wish the romance had taken a slightly bigger role. At times, the story leaned more toward comedy than romantic comedy, which is the only reason this wasn’t a five-star read for me.

If you’re looking for a clean, wholesome, feel-good romance that will have you laughing, smiling, and cheering for the characters, this is a wonderful pick. It’s the perfect beach read for summer and one I’d definitely recommend to fans of humorous Christian romance.