A Bard’s Rest Romance: Book 2
Publication Date: July 4, 2023
When the history and character of her Shakespeare-obsessed hometown is threatened, a powerhouse lawyer goes toe to toe with a commercial developer in a hilarious rom-com from the author of For the Love of the Bard.
Portia Barnes is the youngest managing partner in her law firm’s history, and she and her stilettos are poised to step into the role of her dreams—leading the firm’s new Boston office. But first she’s taking a summer sabbatical in her hometown of Bard’s Rest, New Hampshire, where she discovers something’s rotten in the midst of the town’s annual Shakespeare festival.
Hotshot commercial developer Benjamin Dane is sniffing around Bard’s, and while Portia isn’t necessarily a Shakespeare fanatic like the rest of her family, she’s not about to let him bulldoze the town’s beloved outdoor theater. Yet to Portia’s dismay, Ben proves as skilled as she is when it comes to outworking, outmaneuvering, and one-upping the competition. While she’s never hesitated to wage war against hyper-successful alpha males, Portia is caught off guard by Ben’s openness and lack of arrogance. As her own long-constructed walls start to come down, Portia begins to wonder if he might be more than an archnemesis.
With her heart on the line and the future of the town hanging in the balance, Portia faces an impossible decision—Ben or Bard’s?—unless she finds a way to broker the merger of her life, and ensures the curtain falls on a happy ending for everyone.
From start to finish, The Dane of My Existence by Jessica Martin is entertaining, witty, fun, and…did I mention witty? Extremely well written with a quick pace, it will keep you turning the pages, smiling, and giggling along the way.
Portia Barnes is a high-powered attorney who has thrown herself into her work and is now being rewarded with the position of managing partner in FrancisPearl’s new Boston office. But first, a mandatory sabbatical is required, and where Portia’s adventure in her hometown of Bard’s Rest begins.
Even though she is supposed to be on sabbatical, Portia has a hard time doing nothing and being an adept litigator, she is cajoled into being the attorney for Bard’s Rest’s upcoming annual Shakespeare Festival. In the process, Portia meets tall, dark, and gorgeous developer Benjamin Dane and the engaging banter between the two sizzles with fun and flirtatious wit.
Portia introduces Ben to many of Bard’s Rest’s haunts with clever Shakespearean-themed names such as the drive-in movie theater, Midsummer Nights Screen, or the bowling alley, The Two Noble Pins. The winery, The Merry Wines of Windsor, Much Ado About Pastry, and Parting is Such Sweet, Gelato are among many others that bring smiles with amusing names reminiscent of the Bard himself.
Portia and Ben seem to be the perfect couple. They are both high-powered, ambitious, defined by their work, and powerfully attracted to each other. However, Bard’s Rest and Portia’s family and friends lay prior claim to Portia’s heart, so when Dane Development purchases Will’s Island, the site of the main stages for each year’s Shakespearean play, Portia must decide whether her growing attraction to Ben outweighs her devotion to her hometown.
A wonderfully-told and engaging tale from start to finish, The Dane of My Existence has everything. From the sizzle of sexual tension between Portia and Ben to many a madcap adventure that provides fun interludes, this story is well written, paced perfectly, and a complete delight.
The Dane of My Existence is witty, clever, and a delightfully-fun read that will have you smiling, chuckling, and on the edge of your proverbial Shakespearean seat, wondering whether there’s “much ado about nothing” or will everything be lost. 
Jessica Martin is a lawyer by trade, a writer by choice, and a complete smartass by all accounts. Based in the suburban wilds of Boston, Jess shares her life with a finance geek, a small sass-based human and a pair of dogs named after Bond characters.
