The Last Boyfriend: Book Two of the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy by Nora Roberts

               The Last Boyfriend is the second installment in the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy. All the main cast of characters from the first book have returned, but the focus is no longer on Beckett and Clare. This time the attention is on Beckett’s brother, Owen, and their friend, pizza restaurant owner, Avery. 

                 Years ago Owen and Avery were each other’s first significant other. At the time Avery was five years old, and it was all her idea. I am sure you can figure out how serious that relationship was. Now Owen and Avery are adults and have had a good friendship for years. They are often together with Owen using Avery’s restaurant to work and hold meetings. With so much time together, it is not surprising feelings between the two of them develop. As they are friends, there is hesitance to form a relationship, but both Owen and Avery decide to just see where things go.

               For the most part everything runs smoothly and they find true feelings for each other. There are some hiccups along the way. Avery’s mother ran away when Avery was a child. This has made Avery distrustful of her feelings with relationships, often causing her to internalize what she is feeling. Owen cannot understand Avery’s secretiveness and does whatever he can to get Avery to open up. This takes more than one effort, but he tries because he cares deeply for Avery.

              While it was good to see the serious and organized Owen happy, what I was really interested in was the story of Elizabeth, the inn’s ghost. Owen and the innkeeper, Hope, are working together to find out who Elizabeth is and why she is still around. They discover Elizabeth is pining for a man by the name of Billy. Owen and Hope are thrilled to find this information. The problem is: Who is Billy? 

              In many ways I preferred the first book of the trilogy, but I am thrilled with how much Elizabeth became part of the series in this second book. I am excited to see where the story of Elizabeth goes in the third. Yes, I know there will be a romance among the living, but that is not what I am looking for. I want to know what happens with the ghost.