Brown-Eyed Girl is the final book in the Travis Brothers series by beloved romance author Lisa Kleypas. This contemporary series is about a family of rich Texans, and each book in the quartet works as a stand-alone.
Avery is a wedding planner with a huge fear of commitment. Both of her parents were serial cheaters, and her last boyfriend left her at the altar. So when she meets Joe Travis, she refuses to consider dating him—despite the fact that he’s quite the charmer. But Joe is a determined guy, and he will do whatever it takes to convince Avery to try a relationship.
Meanwhile, Avery has a wedding to plan for a reluctant groom and an overbearing mother. She also has a new dog and a romance to referee between her assistant and her sister, Sofia. On top of all that, Avery is auditioning for a show filmed in New York. With all these demands on her time and a thousand reasons to avoid a serious relationship, will Joe win her over?
As is usually the case with Kleypas, you can expect a lot of humor in this book, along with incredibly engaging characters. Joe is pushy in the sense that he persists in courting Avery despite her saying that she's not interested, but he is also kind, generally respectful, and sweet to his family. Avery's competence as a professional is never in question and never used as a mark against her—her combination of competence and ethics are a significant part of why Joe is so attracted to her. The supporting characters are engaging (or, in the case of the antagonist, gratifyingly evil). The sex is hot, and Avery and Joe make sense as a couple—she has drive, and he can offer a kind of stability and depth of relationship that she's never known.
This is a feel-good book, especially for those who don't mind a rather aggressive male lead. The theme of family runs throughout the book, and while Brown-Eyed Girl is fine on its own, readers of previous installments will be pleased to see the other Travis siblings passing through the story. This is a sweet, satisfying conclusion to the series.
