Review: The Firefly Jar (Crickley Creek #1) by Laurie Beach

Welcome to Crickley Creek, where dreams are encouraged—as long as they fit within the proper rules of etiquette.

Sweet Charlotte Sinclair has no idea that “bless your heart” is the same as “screw you”—and she’s about to find out the hard way. After her mother’s death, Charlotte moved from free-wheeling California to her mother’s tiny hometown in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, longing to feel closer to her and searching for closure.

Charlotte loves her status as a popular coffee shop owner and is enjoying her budding romance with local hero Will Rushton more than she’d like to admit. So why is she still struggling to find acceptance within the Crickley Creek community? There’s a secret nestled among the plantation homes and Spanish moss-covered oaks—a truth her mother’s arch rival will do anything to hide.

And if Charlotte doesn’t learn how to overcome the damage some well-placed gossip can do to her reputation, she might lose everything, including her rose-colored memories of her mother. But is it possible for an outsider to belong in the deep South and still remain true to her own roots?

 

My Review:

A wonderful story of self-discovery.

This book is a great start to a new series that I know I will enjoy.  There is a wide assortment of interesting characters who make the story really come to life.  I enjoyed seeing Charlotte learn who she really is, uncover family secrets and eventually fall in love.  The writer wrote this book in a way that I could easily visualize the scenes and I felt I knew the characters personally.  This is a book that I will definitely want to revisit one day.

 

 

Review: Home to River’s Edge (The Weaver Sisters #1) by Nan Reinhardt

 

She’s determined to start a new chapter, so why is she still drawn to a man from her past?

When Jasmine Weaver, the chief of staff to a powerful D.C. congresswoman, chose integrity, she didn’t anticipate ringing in the New Year disgraced, unemployed, and sleeping in her childhood bedroom. Now back in River’s Edge, Indiana, identical triplet Jazz has her sisters’ support while she plans her next steps. She agrees to lead the committee for their high school’s fifteenth reunion, never dreaming that her co-chair is the man who broke her teenage heart.

As the new CEO of Walker Construction, Elias Walker has taken the family business to new levels of success. He’s buried himself in work to ease the grief of losing his fiancé several years earlier and wants nothing more than to be a carpenter again. Elias grudgingly agrees to co-chair the high school’s reunion committee, but when Jazz Weaver blows into town, suddenly anything seems possible.

These high school sweethearts have lived half their lives apart. Can they reinvent themselves back in the town where it all began?

 

My Review:

High school sweethearts get a second chance at love.

I just love returning to the River’s Edge books.  The characters feel like old friends to me and I like revisiting them and seeing who is new in town.  I was immediately drawn into this first book in the Weaver Sisters series.  I couldn’t wait to see how Jazz and Eli would rekindle the relationship that ended in high school after Eli broke up with Jazz just days before the senior prom.  Both characters had a lot going on in their lives and didn’t even think about dating again until they ran into each other again.

This book has it all; a sweet second chance, great family dynamics, close friendships along with an interesting story line that kept my full attention through the entire book.  This is a great start to a new series, featuring the Weaver triplets.

 

 My girl Honolulu "Lulu" is celebrating Tortoiseshell Appreciation Day today. 

 

 

Review: The Billionaire Cowboy’s Proposition (Accidental Billionaire Cowboys, #3)

She’s ready to put on the performance of a lifetime.

Cody Tomlinson and Mallory Moore have struck sparks off each other since high school theater, where she was sunny and talented while he was injured and angry. A decade later, Mallory is working to save Last Stand’s movie theater and convert it into a performance space for live theater and music. Thanks to his family’s lottery win, Cody has plenty of money to help. But Mallory’s the only woman in town who doesn’t want Cody’s charity.

It’s bad enough that Cody is sexy as sin with his tough, scarred cowboy looks. Now he’s rich and Mallory refuses to be another woman fighting for his attention. She won’t accept a financial gift for her business, but she’s not above a fair trade. Mallory offers a deal: Cody can invest in the theater if he volunteers on the renovation. Meanwhile, she’ll play the part of his fiancée to ward off fortune hunters.

But Mallory immediately realizes her mistake. Cody’s always driven her crazy, and now they’re spending all their days—and nights—together.

 

My Review:

Former classmates reunite.

Cody Tomlinson and Mallory Moore are reunited after Cody’s family wins billions of dollars playing the lottery.  Cody returned to Last Stand without a real purpose in life and is now looking for one.  He can do anything he wants now that he has money.  But he chooses to help Mallory restore the town’s community theater. 

Being one of the “Billionaire bachelor Brothers”, Cody is constantly fighting off money hungry women, so Mallory pretends to be Cody’s girlfriend to keep the other women away.  They become better friends and eventually start to fall in love.  But will it be enough for a lasting relationship? 

I love returning to this little Texas town and the Tomlinson family.  It’s like reconnecting with old friends. Through the writer’s words, I can easily visualize the setting and scenes.  This is such a fun book series.  I couldn’t imagine winning the lottery, let alone, billions of dollars.  It’s a fun fantasy to think about and even more fun to read about it in this book.