Welcome to Harmony

I learned a new trick lately.  I open up my public library's website on one tab and then use others to read book bloggers' Monday Meme posts.  Monday is the day when book bloggers, via several different memes share what books came into the house that week as well as link to reviews they wrote.  It is kind of the world of book blogging condensed into one day's worth of posts and reading those posts always makes me want more books.  Welcome to Harmony is a book I saw reviewed several places a few weeks ago so I requested it from the library--I don't know how our system compares to others, but I can search to see if the system has a book, and if it does, I can reserve it for myself and request that it be sent to my nearest branch.  It is almost as quick as Amazon and my tax dollars are already paying for it.

Welcome to Harmony is about Reagan, a teen who has spent years in foster care.  While working in a nursing  home, she meets Beverly, who tells her about her hometown of Harmony, TX.  When Beverly dies, Reagan decides that Harmony is going to be her new hometown.  She runs away to get there, and once there, introduces herself to Beverly's brother as Beverly's granddaughter.  The old man (who has a reputation in town as a loner and a grump) takes her in, and a couple of weeks later when he finds out her lie, chooses not to tell anyone else in town that she isn't who she said she was.  Reagan meets "Preacher" a schoolmate who is a rodeo rider and we watch as their relationship develops.  We also meet Alexandra the sheriff and Hank, the fire chief who not only have to work out the details of their relationship, but also have to deal with a rash of fires which are happening now that everything is so dry.  Other characters include the town undertaker and other police officers and firefighters.

This is mass-market romantic fiction; there is sexual activity between unmarried adults, but we don't get to watch.  It is an enjoyable story, and the first in a series so maybe more questions will be answered later, but there were certain characters and character traits I thought needed to be better explained.  Still I liked the book and recommend it. Grade:  B+.