A woman must muster every bit of her flagging self-confidence in order to find love in Bastone's poignant final Forever Yours romance (after Can't Help Falling). Thirty-seven-year-old Mary Trace's blind date, 31-year-old John Modesto-Whitford, hits a nerve when he blurts out that he thought she would be younger. Mary is devastated, but as a successful Brooklyn business owner with strong, supportive friendships, she tries to let it roll off her back--a goal that would be much easier if she didn't keep running into John. John, a public defender, actually deeply admires Mary, but is inexperienced with women and has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. After Mary's boutique is vandalized, John lends a shoulder and helps her rebuild. They grow closer and come to realize what the reader will feel is obvious from the beginning: that the age difference between them shouldn't matter. But both must work through deep insecurities before they can create a lasting relationship. Though occasionally repetitive, the romance is cute and the Brooklyn setting is lovingly rendered. This character-driven contemporary is sure to satisfy series fans. Agent: Tara Gelsomino, One Track Literary. (Feb.)

Mary Trace agrees to a blind date with John Modesto-Whitford, the son of a good friend, but she walks out soon after he makes a rude comment about her age. Mary isn't sensitive about her age--she's only 37--but she's also not willing to waste time on an unsuccessful date, even if her mother keeps sending her articles about aging and fertility. When John's mother marches him into Mary's successful home goods store to apologize, Mary discovers that John is much chagrined and actually a quite nice person. As a tentative friendship develops between them, and John agrees to help Mary weed out "bad" dates, they secretly begin to long for each other. Narrator Susannah Jones does an exceptional job bringing John and Mary to life and making the listener feel the slow-burning emotions behind the couple's pining. VERDICT This third book in the "Forever Yours" series (after Can't Help Falling) proves Bastone is a must-read author, especially for the way she deftly weaves topics like grief, aging, and class difference into her contemporary romances. Here, she turns a disastrous first impression into a beautiful happily ever after.--Elizabeth Gabriel, Milwaukee P.L.