Bliss and the Art of Forever: My Review

Bliss and the Art of Forever (A Hope Springs Novel)

About the Book:

Now that she’s committed to leaving Hope Springs, she’s falling for the wrong man…but he just might give her all the right reasons to stay.

Two years after her husband’s death, kindergarten teacher Brooklyn Harvey is leaving Hope Springs for her in-laws’ vineyard in Italy—with no plans of coming back. That is, until she meets a disarmingly sexy biker-turned-chocolatier. He might be the man of her dreams, but he’s also the father of one of her students; as such, he’s strictly off-limits.

Callum Drake knows a good thing when he sees one, and he doesn’t want to let Brooklyn get away, even if his rival for her affection is the ghost of her dead husband. He’ll do whatever it takes to win her over, including making chocolates concocted just for her—chocolates that evoke memories of their time together. But can he create a second love bright enough to pull her, and her heart, out of living in the past?

My Comments:

Since I loved the other books in his series, I was eager to read this one.  While I enjoyed it, the other books were better (but the chocolates described herein seemed divine!).  Brooklyn is a kindergarten teacher, a lover of medieval romance novels and a good friend to people in this small town.  Because of the danger involved in his job, Brooklyn and her husband chose not to have children.  After he dies, she is alone.  She decides to join his family in Italy and is in the process of closing out her life in Hope Springs, and then she meets him--the bad boy biker who is the loving father of one of her students.  Sparks fly, chocolate is made, a  cute kid almost steals the show and in the end...

While it takes them a while to end up in bed, eventually they find their way there, and readers get to watch. 

I liked the fact that this book really showed the art of courtship.  He wanted her right away, and in a lot of ways, she wanted him too, but she wasn't ready, and he knew it. He was  there, he kept letting her know how much she meant, and in the end...

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a complimentary review copy via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.

Review: The Sweetness of Honey

The Sweetness of Honey (A Hope Springs Novel)

About the Book:

Dark-haired beauty Indiana Keller buys a property in Hope Springs, Texas, for three reasons: to expand her vegetable business, to harvest and sell delicious honey from the property’s established bee colony, and to reunite with her estranged siblings. But her older brother Tennessee keeps his distance, even after Indiana hires his construction crew to fix up her cottage. It’s almost as if he shares her guilt over the disappearance of Dakota, their missing brother…

While Indiana tries to reconnect with Ten and find Dakota, two local men begin vying for her heart. Handsome, laid-back Will Bowman has a checkered past, but now he’s determined to get what he wants out of life…and he wants Indiana. Meanwhile, refined Oliver Gatlin can’t fight his own attraction to Indiana, especially since his brother also fell victim to tragic circumstances. Amid the raw natural beauty of Hope Springs, can Indiana’s heart finally heal enough to love?

My Comments:

This is the third book I've read in this series and I've enjoyed them all.  As I noted in the other reviews, the writing is better than normal for romance novels.  Indiana is the sister of the hero of Second Chance Cafe  and she wants to find a third sibling, a brother who went to prison for assaulting a boy who had tried to rape her.  Oliver is the brother of the boy in the accident that was important in Beneath the Patchwork Moon.  He has spent years blaming himself for the accident.  Will wants Indiana but that spark isn't there on her side.  There were times I found myself trying to remember what happened in the other books and what other people remembered about the accident.  Also, at the end Will does something important but we never find out how or why.  We also aren't privy to an important conversation at the end of the book; there are lots of why questions still floating in my mind not only about the car accident but about the recent life of one of the characters.  I hope the answers will be forthcoming in another book.  In short the book is clearly part of a series and reading the other books, while not absolutely necessary, certainly adds to the reader's knowledge of the situations described.

There are a couple in intimate scenes in the book.  Personally, I didn't like them and think "lust scenes" better describes them than "love scenes".

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.

Beneath the Patchwork Moon: My Review

Beneath the Patchwork Moon (A Hope Springs Novel)

About the Book:

In Hope Springs, Texas, every first love deserves a second chance.

Luna Meadows wove a successful career out of creating the sumptuous, richly hued scarves that adorn Hollywood’s elite. Now she wants to give back to her hometown of Hope Springs, Texas, by creating a community arts center on the property that once belonged to her best friend: a talented musician named Sierra who perished in a car crash at age eighteen. As Luna sorts through the personal belongings left in the Caffey family’s former home, she confronts her own guilt and memories. But when Angelo Caffey—Sierra’s brother and Luna’s first love—returns unexpectedly, Luna must also face the pain of their long-ago relationship.

Headstrong, handsome Angelo walked away from Hope Springs—and Luna—eight years ago. But this time, he’s staying until he gets his answers. Still haunted by Sierra’s mysterious accident, he demands to know the secrets Luna has harbored all these years. But will revealing the truth leave Luna heartbroken? Or can she finally bury the past and help Angelo come home for good?

My Comments:

I enjoyed this romance, which was better written than many are.  Besides developing the relationship between Angelo and Luna, we explore the relationship between Luna and her high school best friend.  Family relationships are also explored and we see how two people view the life of one family in very different ways.  Luna is named for a moth and we see her coming out of her chrysalis and developing into the woman she was meant to be.  I definitely recommend this book to fans of romance novels.  

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+.

Review: Second Chance Cafe

The Second Chance Café (A Hope Springs Novel)

About the Book:

Growing up, Kaylie Flynn was shuffled from foster home to foster home before being welcomed into Winton and May Wise’s family. It was May who taught Kaylie the comfort of home, and the healing power of baking the perfect brownie. Years later, May leaves Kaylie the money she needs to open her own café in the charming Victorian house they once shared. Now back in Hope Springs, Kaylie’s determined to finally make all her dreams a reality—and unearth answers to lingering questions about her past.

Soon, however, Kaylie’s carefully laid plans take an unexpected turn. The house needs far more work than she realized, and Tennessee Keller, the carpenter Kaylie hires, is proving to be a very handsome and very unneeded distraction from her quest to uncover the truth about her parents. When a crisis threatens to destroy everything she’s worked so hard to build, Kaylie must decide where her heart lies: with the ghosts of her past or the love and promise of her future.

My Comments:

It's funny how books that have nothing to do with each other can have so much in common.  This is the third book I've read this weekend and they've all dealt in one way or another with people having to decide how much of the past to hang onto and how much to let go.  We all know that living in the past rather than the present isn't a sign of a mentally well person, but the mentally healthy know that the past has, to some extent, made them who they are.  

People in Kaylie's past have abandoned her.  She comes to Hope Springs seeking more information about her past, but then is afraid to seek it too much.  She finds that other people have things in their pasts that they'd rather forget.  As secrets are unearthed, people come together to find healing.

While this book is a romance and does focus primarily on Kaylie and Tennessee, it really goes deeper into other relationships in their lives than is typical in a romance novel.  The writing is also better than I usually associate with this genre.  It has a couple of very steamy scenes but it is a book I'd recommend to romance/women's fiction readers despite those scenes, which can be skimmed/skipped without missing any real plot points.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+