Peggy Webb, $4.99, ISBN 978-1466054561
Paranormal Romance, 2011 (Reissue)
Peggy Webb’s Only Yesterday was originally published under the Bantam Loveswept line back in 1998. I’ll assume that this edition is merely a reissue, as there is no indication anywhere that it has been revised or expanded in any way.
In its heart, this is a story about infidelity, but it’s totally okay, people, so don’t get your ire up.
Sure, the heroine Ann Debeau is engaged to Rob when she meets and gets all horny horny over Colt Butler, but it’s totally okay, because when she calls Rob while he’s in the middle of getting ready for a big impending meeting with a client, he’s too busy to drop everything and listen to her moan about whatever stray thought passes through her head. As all those relationship counselors on TikTok will say, this is a super red flag that the man doesn’t respect her and she should drop the man like hot potato ASAP.
Besides, Colt makes her basement flood, so this is a sign of true love.
Oh yes, Ann is in a small town to get the home of her late aunt Gilly in order, when she faces this existential crisis of having to choose between a boring man that she has committed herself to and a hot and exciting man that makes a hard and hot move on her the moment they meet.
Fortunately, the choice is simple.
One, Rob will want her to stay in the big city once they are married, and we all know big cities are dens of sin. Meanwhile, Colt will want her to stay in a small town, which we all know is the end game of sensible, virtuous women everywhere.
Two, Colt’s date wants to watch her weight by picking low-calorie ice cream. That’s disgusting and a sign that this date exudes pure harlot energy. On the other hand, Ann has no issues pigging out, and we all know she is virtuous and worthy of love because she can eat whatever she wants in whatever quantity but she will never get fat.
Three, a hurricane slams the place and Colt comes to her rescue. What a hero. Compare this to that disgusting Rob, who prefers to make money to maintain a luxurious lifestyle, so unlike our hero that exists to serve the heroine hand and foot 24/7 yet somehow still manages to make enough money to ensure that the heroine will never want for any creature comforts ever.
However, Ann is still hesitating to put out to Colt immediately, so fate or destiny or whatever sends her back in time to realize that her past self and the past Colt are destined to be, forever and ever, so when she gets back in time, Ann realizes that it’s perfectly fine to put out to a guy that isn’t her fiancé. Don’t complain, haters, because she has destiny, fate, and chance behind her and pushing her onto Colt’s big… love.
Naturally, Rob turns out to a materialistic ass that only wants her because he thinks she’d be the perfect wife to complement his image, so any little guilt that Ann may feel is retroactively erased because baby, whatever she did turns out to be the most absolute right thing ever.
In other words, this story is pure hot baloney from start to finish, and I’d like to imagine that Ann’s time travel adventures are signs that she’s slowly getting addled and hallucinating lovely things to justify her actions to herself. The whole thing is unintentionally hilarious actually, as Peggy Webb’s stories tend to be, and entertaining as a result.
So yes, Colt has better hope that Ann won’t soon start having premonitions of a new fated love after she meets another guy that makes her even more horny. Me, however, I’m far more amused by the nonsense happening here than I probably should be!
