The Color of Home

From Amazon's synopsis: Audrey Needham, Bay Area interior designer to the rich and pretentious, is down to her last nerve. Her boss is impossible to please, her future is in jeopardy, and her great-aunt Daisy needs support as her husband descends into Alzheimer's.

When Daisy enlists Audrey's help preparing for a move to assisted living, Audrey risks her career to return to the idyllic small town of Charity Falls, Oregon, the summer stomping grounds of her childhood. But Charity Falls was also the place that broke her heart when her father was killed in a tragic fire at the Sugar Pine Inn thirteen years ago.

Despite Audrey's intent to avoid emotional entanglement, the pull of home is hard to resist. Something should be done about the deteriorating inn. A local girl with an incarcerated father needs a friend. And handsome local do-gooder Cade Carter is coloring Audrey all shades of uncertain.

For the most part, this book was enjoyable and brought out some of it was quite necessary for the times we live in.  Caring for our aging relatives made it feel quite rewarding, especially for someone who has cared for an ailing relative.  The primary characters were not the ones I loved most, but some of the secondary characters made the book what it is.  The only thing I have against the book is that the ending was totally unsatisfying.  It seemed to be wrapped up and tied with a knot in just a short, few paragraphs. Kit Tosello has written a fairly good book that will keep the reader engaged.  Four Stars

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

The Blooming of Delphinium

From Amazon's synopsis: As far as hidden talents go, Delphinium Hayes is blessed with one of the more unique ones. With the slightest passing whiff, she knows someone's most admirable or weediest characteristic. This peculiar perception never fails to give her an advantage in life--until she meets two men who turn her world upside down.

Mason McCormack has agreed to help her with a group of seniors who have taken over her flower shop as their hangout. But his assistance is not without its price, and Delphinium agrees to compensate him with beautiful bouquets that seem to possess a bit of dating magic.

Elliot Sturgis, director of The Gardens Assisted Living Facility, is determined to discover why a group of his residents keeps sneaking over to Delphinium's shop to play poker in the walk-in refrigerator. He soon finds himself as enchanted by Delphinium as everyone else. But his devotion to following the rules and maintaining order does not endear him to the shop's owner.

There are some other characters who play a part in the warp and woof of the fabric of this novel.  One, in particular, throws a monkey wrench into the works and creates such havoc that the main players think they will never recover.  I truly enjoyed this book by Holly Varni.  She puts together an interesting plot with a lot of entertainment to keep the reader engaged.  

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and the fragrance of love. 

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

So Into You

From Amazon's synopsis:  Artist Britt Branch has a successful online channel where she teaches a variety of art lessons. Obsessed with the 1970s, she has a style all her own. But she also has a huge problem--severe social anxiety. She lives with her mom, and while she pays her own bills, she wonders if she'll ever have the courage to move out and move on. When her best friend announces she's getting married, Britt decides it's time to make a change.

Gorgeous Hunter Pickett has always skated by on his model looks, applying very little effort to anything except sports, and even that was iffy at times. The third son of extremely wealthy and successful parents, he dealt with being the black sheep of the family by drinking and using drugs. By his third year of sobriety, he's still dealing with aimlessness. Late one night he catches Britt's channel and ends up watching her videos. He's not interested in art . . . at first. And when he sends her an online message, he's surprised she responds. Before long they are chatting every day, and once they start meeting in person, a spark-filled friendship begins.

Kathleen Fuller has written a book full of contemporary problems.  While she does follow the romance novel formula, it fits the plot so well that it doesn't feel formulaic.  The secrets all of the main characters are holding blow up the relationships in an explosive fashion.  The only thing I didn't like was how the conflicts were resolved.  It seemed too easy to me.  Still So Into You is a good read.

Four Strong Stars

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

With this Ring

 

From the Amazon synopsis: Dakota thought she had left her dreams of happily-ever-after behind, along with the pain of a broken engagement to her high school sweetheart, Hudson. Now, as the proud owner of Fairytale Bridal Shop in the picturesque town of Flowering Grove, she's built a life and a business on helping brides find their perfect dress for their own fairytale weddings. But running a small business is not for the faint of heart, and when her ex-fiancé unexpectedly returns to town with a mission—to put a stop to his sister's wedding—Dakota’s problems go from bad to worse.

Hudson Garrity should be living his dream. After selling his software company, he’s single, handsome, and rich, but an unexpected call from his baby sister has him flying down to his hometown, determined to protect Layla from yet another big mistake. Though he’s single-minded in his effort to derail the nuptials, he instead finds himself thrown into family chaos and roped into helping his sister with her plans . . . bringing him once more into contact with Dakota Jamison, the one who got away.

For Hudson, coming home means revisiting his painful childhood, repairing a strained relationship with his sister, and coming face-to-face with the woman he never stopped loving. For Dakota, it means confronting the tender memories she buried deep within her heart. As Layla’s wedding date draws close, the two reunited lovers begin to question if what went wrong between them really happened the way they remembered it at all. 

This book by Amy Clipston is one of her better offerings in the contemporary romance genre.  There are conflict resolution, interpersonal relationships, and familial relationships.  The more she writes in this genre, the better she seems to get.  This book was hard to put down, it is that engaging. 

Four Stars

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

Meddling with Mistletoe

From the Amazon description: Whitney Garrett is preparing to enter culinary school in the spring, but first she has to sell enough homemade pies at the local Christmas markets to pay her tuition. When her oven breaks, Whitney asks Marie Sloan, proprietor of the Red Door Inn, if she can use the inn's kitchen to keep up with her orders. Marie agrees, with a catch: Whitney has to watch the three Sloan children and cook breakfasts for the Red Door in return.

The inn is busy with holiday guests--including Aretha Franklin Sloan's perpetually single nephew Daniel and Ruby, a businesswoman in town to purchase Aretha's antiques store. Intent on making a Christmas match for the two, Aretha enlists Whitney's help in her schemes. But the deeper Whitney gets, the more she realizes that Ruby is definitely not the right woman for Daniel--and the more she thinks that she just might be his perfect match.
 

This book is such a fun read, from the oven mishaps to Aretha's scheming to Whitney's and Daniel's budding friendship that blossoms into romance.  Liz Johnson knows how to inject humor and sass into her novels and truly made this an enjoyable read. 

Four Strong Stars

Revell Publishing provided the e-copy of this novel that I read.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.