REVIEW: Tinsel by Devney Perry

In Tinsel (Lark Cove #4) by Devney Perry, Growing up in the spotlight thanks to her privileged upbringing in a well-to-do family, Sofia Kendrick has learned how to rise above the haters. But when a magazine article rips her to shreds, making her wonder if the digs about being nothing more than a silly socialite could be true, she knows it’s time to actually do something with her life. A vacation to visit her brother Logan in Montana will hopefully give Sofia some distance from NYC. And boy does it bring her down a peg or two. Getting talked into helping at her sister-in-law’s bar puts her to work for the first time in her life. As well as in direct contact with sexy bartender Dakota Magee. After two disastrous marriages and a recent breakup, Sofia isn’t looking for a man. Too bad her heart isn’t getting the hint when it comes to Dakota.

‘It was time to stop being the superficial, petty and naive woman who’d been portrayed as nothing more than tinsel in that magazine article.
It was time to find a purpose.
I just had no idea how.’

When Sofia walked into the bar, Dakota wasn’t sure what to expect–except for a headache, trying to teach the beautiful social princess how to clean and make drinks. But a few things become crystal clear right away. She might be way out of her depth, but Sofia has the wherewithal to keep trying until she gets the job right. The other thing Dakota figured out was that just like him, her family life was complicated, causing her to struggle with who she wants to be as opposed to who she’s been raised to be. Knowing they both have a long way to go personally doesn’t make for a stable beginning to a relationship. Good thing Dakota isn’t in the market for one. But he can see himself enjoying the time Sofia has left in Montana. He just hopes he can let her go when her stay in Lark Cove is over.

‘If I did anything in the next nine days, I hoped to show her that at least one person believed in her, that one person didn’t expect her to conform to a certain role because of her heritage or last name or birth order.’

Talk about a hard won HEA! Devney Perry continued her winning streak with the fourth and final installment in her Lark Cove series. *sniffle* Tinsel had it all: personal growth, family drama, and a fiery romance so right and so true that it just had to work out somehow in the end.

‘There had to be a future. There *had* to be a way. We’d touched one another’s lives, leaving permanent marks neither of us would ever erase.’

Devney Perry has been on-point with this series and I’ve fallen in love with her writing style, which has wonderful emotional depth and twisting storylines that put the characters through hell before earning their HEA. I thought it was ingenious to pair Sofia, a socialite, and Dakota, a down-to-earth American Indian bartender, together. Both of whom were having issues facing down their identity and their place in the world to a certain extent. It made for some tough decisions–and a lot of tears on Sofia’s part (she cried easily)–but I think the fact that she and Dakota had similar personal struggles meant that they really understood down to the core what each other was going through. How could a strong bond not form from that, right?

Tinsel was an opposites attract romance that took me by surprise with how much I related to the Dakota and Sofia and with what a perfect couple they were together. I do have to be honest that Sofia was not my favorite character in this series from what I had seen of her in previous books. She came across as selfish, whiny, and uncaring. But she got a wake up call with the scathing magazine article written about her and a few other socialites at the beginning of this book and it was the catalyst for Sofia to finally become her best self. I’m all about personal growth in any story, so watching her–and Dakota–figure out who they could be individually and as a couple was quite heartwarming. And I truly ended up adoring Sofia. She had a very fragile but kind heart hiding under all the glam. (lol) And she was so giving to Dakota, but showed him tough-love when the situation called for it too, which I appreciated.

Dakota’s main problems, without giving too much away, stemmed from his family’s expectations. I love, love, loved that he was of Native American descent, specifically from the Blackfoot Nation. Adversity in romance is something that I like seeing. But in Dakota’s case, unfortunately, that adversity was something very tough to deal with. It really was only an issue with his family’s views on outsiders, not how people in Lark Cove viewed him, which was a different spin on things. Dakota did eventually find the balance he was looking for. It meant things were super complicated between himself and his heart’s desire, Sofia, but it made their happy ending that much sweeter.

I don’t think fans could have asked for a better conclusion to this romance or to the Lark Cove series. In Tinsel, we caught up with the rest of the couples we met along the way and said farewell to a place whose people who have become near and dear to so many of our hearts.

Book Info:

Publication: Published February 19th 2019 | Pub: Devney Perry | Lark Cove #4

Sofia Kendrick has always cherished her tiara. As the youngest daughter of a wealthy New York family, she’s lived the life of an American princess. But after two scandalous divorces and a breakup smear her name across the society rags, the shine from her crown has dulled. People call her superficial, even gaudy.

She’s nothing more than tinsel.

Desperate for escape and starving for peace, Sofia heads to Montana for a holiday weekend with her brother. But she doesn’t get the relaxing vacation she planned. Instead, she’s put to work in a bar alongside Dakota Magee—a man who does not want her help. A man who is set on teaching her a few lessons about real life and hard work. But Sofia has a couple of life lessons of her own to teach. Like how to fall in love.