Review: Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex

Harlequin, January 2013

RATING: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)

Tiffany Cheung hightailed it out of the small town of Everville, New York as soon as she had the opportunity. For years, she’s been trying to make a name for herself in publishing, attempting to put her English degree to good use in Manhattan. But when she loses her job and can’t pay the rent on her apartment, her only option is to move back in with her parents. Her family is embarrassed by the way Tiffany’s career has worked out, but they’re delighted that she’s available to help out at the family diner. Tiffany is not so pleased at this prospect, and when the opportunity arises to tutor her high school crush’s son in English, she immediately accepts.

Tiffany hadn’t realised that Chris Jamieson had returned to Everville, let alone that he’d dropped out of college when his girlfriend got pregnant. Now Chris is a divorced, single-parent attempting to make his dad’s farm into a profitable business venture. Chris doesn’t want to project his lost dreams on to his son, but he can’t help but wish Simon would make of his life than he did. Tiffany tutored Chris in high school, and he hopes that she’ll help Simon make his way through summer school unscathed.

What neither of them expects is for the spark Tiffany and Chris had in high school to be reappear, especially considering that Tiffany has no plans to stay in Everville permanently. Given that Chris is tied to his farm, is there any hope for their romance to last beyond this summer?

Back to the Good Fortune Diner immediately grabbed my attention when I was flipping through the publisher’s catalogue, even though I’ve only dabbled in the Superromance line once before. It might not be obvious from my profile picture, but I’m Anglo-Indian, and I’m always pleased to come across a mixed-race heroine in the romance genre. The fact that Tiffany was Asian-American was enough to inspire me to read this book, and it helped that I’m a big fan of small-town stories and reunion romances.

Tiffany is actually the second Asian-American heroine I’ve encountered this year, since I read Camy Tang’s Sushi for One? back in January. Both novels featured single women nearing the age of thirty and struggling with their families’ projections for their futures. I have to say that I related to Tiffany more so than Lex, the protagonist of Sushi for One? Admittedly, I didn’t think I’d have a lot in common with either woman, given that I got married at the age of twenty and that my Indian family has managed to avoid pigeon-holing me into the traditional career route of doctor/lawyer/minister. But as Back to the Good Fortune Diner progressed, I realised that I had more in common with Tiffany than I initially thought, and I’m sure I won’t be the only reader who is pleasantly surprised by the message in this novel.

Several reviewers have commented on the fact that Tiffany isn’t always the most likeable heroine, and I commend Vicki Essex for taking this risk. Even if I disagreed with some of Tiffany’s actions, I didn’t want to shake her for making such silly decisions because I could understand her reasoning. Tiffany is scared of taking risks, and constantly has her defences up, a throwback to the bullying she experienced as a child. Although the bullying I experienced at school wasn’t linked to my ethnicity (given that my skin is more akin to that of a vampire than my Indian grandfather) I, too, would be shocked if someone who had looked down on me at school suddenly wanted to go on a coffee date. Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile our past memories of a person or a place with the present-day reality, so I didn’t blame Tiffany for the way she acted at certain points throughout the novel. I’m sure that anyone who has had trouble fitting in—whether for issues of race or not—will be able to relate to Tiffany’s problems in Everville.

Despite their different racial backgrounds, Tiffany and Chris’s families have a lot in common, mainly their constant projecting of ideas about their children’s futures. This is something I’m so, so thankful that I never experienced, but I didn’t stop me from sympathising with Tiffany and her brother, Daniel, or Chris and his son, Simon. I appreciated that Vicki showed that parents having visions of their children’s futures isn’t limited to any specific ethnic group, and your race doesn’t determine how you deal with parental pressure. Tiffany and Daniel had very different responses, with Tiffany running away to Manhattan and Daniel attempting to align his life to his parents’ vision. On the other hand, both Chris and Simon get defensive about their respective parents pushing them towards a certain future, which causes a lot of tension in their family.

I hadn’t realised that the Superromance novels contained sub-plots, so Daniel’s story was a pleasant surprise. It did take me a while to warm up to Daniel and his dilemma over introducing his non-Asian girlfriend to his family, and admitting to them that he might not want to run the family business when his father retired. Initially I didn’t care much about Daniel and just wanted to get back to Tiffany’s story, but he grew on me as the novel developed.

I realise that I’ve not actually discussed much about the romance yet, which might seem odd given that this is a romance novel. The theme of fitting-in and Tiffany and Chris’s character growth is tied tightly to their romance, with all of the elements depending on each other in order for their relationship to survive. I suppose you could say that their romance is typical of small-town stories where one character returns and discovers that the sparks are still there despite not having seen each other in years. Personally, I like those sorts of romances, and I appreciated that what was keeping Chris and Tiffany from admitting that they wanted their relationship to last was actually their own fears and misconceptions about the future.

This was wrapped up in what I felt was the major theme of the novel—Do you really know what you want? Sometimes we think something is the best path for us in life because it makes the most money, or because it fulfils our parents’ dreams for us, or because it validates our university or career choices. Or sometimes it’s simply because it’s the safest route. I know I’ve been guilty of this lately, and it’s taken me a while to admit to friends and family that I want to devote the next few years of my life working on my writing, rather than getting further qualifications or taking a safe job. Tiffany and Chris’s fears really spoke to me, and I have a feeling that they’ll hit a chord with other readers as well.

There isn’t a lot that I disliked about this novel, but if I had to pin-point anything, I had a couple of issues with the secondary characters. As I mentioned before, it took me a while to warm up to Daniel, but it was quite the opposite with Chris’s father, William. Regardless of how completely un-politically correct he might be, he seemed pretty realistic at the start of the novel. However, he had a complete turn-around later in the book when someone confronted him about his treatment of Tiffany, and I didn’t find it terribly believable, given how adamant he had been about his earlier beliefs. Perhaps if his change of character had been more drawn-out I would have bought it. I also wish that Simon’s conflict had been resolved more. He seemed a little forgotten in the rush to conclude Tiffany and Chris’s romance.

My small issues with the secondary characters are honestly all I can criticise about this novel, which has been a wonderful introduction to the Harlequin Superromance line. If you like romances that feature dynamic characters, believable conflicts and appealing settings, this is definitely a line to check out, and I highly recommend starting with Back to the Good Fortune Diner.

Disclaimer: This is a mass-market romance and contains three, brief sexual scenes, as well as a few instances of foul language.

Review title provided by Harlequin.

Sunrise Point - Robyn Carr (Virgin River #19)

GENRE: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

PUBLISHER: MIRA

PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 24, 2012

RATING: 7 OUT OF 10 – GOOD

PROS: Strong heroine who cares about her children; endearing secondary characters

CONS: Relatively predictable romance; inconclusive sub-plot; includes an awkwardly-phrased sex scene

Nora Crane is desperate for a full-time job that will support her and her two small children. Abandoned by her drug-addicted boyfriend, who was eventually imprisoned, she’s stranded in Virgin River and is thankful to at least have a roof over her head. She’s being relying on the kindness of the residents of the town, and as much as she appreciates the help from the local minister and her neighbours, she wants to make it on her own. But convincing Tom Cavanaugh to take her on as one of his seasonal apple-pickers isn’t easy. He doesn’t believe that the slight, single-mother can do the hard work, and only offers her the job at the insistence of his grandmother, Maxie, who sees a lot of herself in Nora. Soon Nora is spending every day at the orchard, and soon feels like she’s part of Tom’s family. Tom can’t help noticing Nora’s unfortunate situation, and while he doesn’t want to get involved with a woman so young yet so worldly-experienced as Nora, he can’t help but lend a hand every now and then. He has his eye on a woman far more sophisticated than Nora, but when secrets from his apple-picker’s past begin to surface he finds himself becoming more involved in her life. Can he truly stay away?

A friend recommended the Virgin River series to me sometime last year, but I hadn’t been able to find the first book in my local library and was daunted by the long list of books already released. Ultimately I became impatient as I received more recommendations for this series, so I did what any insane reader would do – started at #19.  While frequent readers of this series may be going into a full-blown panic attack right now, I can confirm that I didn’t have any major difficulties jumping into the series at Sunrise Point and that while there are references to characters from previous books, these didn’t alienate me or distract me from my reading experience. However, since I’ve only read Sunrise Point so far, I can’t guarantee that every book in the series can be read as a standalone, but I would hope that this is the case.

I’m a sucker for romances about single mums and dads, and the kids in this story weren’t simply there for “Aww!” factor as they are in some novels. Nora was such a strong character, in both her mothering instinct and her desire to make something of her life and to stop relying on the charity of others. While sometimes this made her quite stubborn, her commitment to finding a job that would support her two children made her an incredibly endearing character. Nora is a woman who made plenty of mistakes in her past and is likely to challenge readers’ assumptions about single parents and how they end up in these sorts of situations, just as she challenges Tom’s judgements when she initially interviews for a job at his orchard. Both Nora and Tom have a lot of personal issues to work through before they can reconcile their differences. In Nora’s case, she has to deal with some ghosts from her past that are holding her back in the present, while Tom has to decide whether he’s ready to settle down on his grandmother’s orchard, and whether his aspirations for his future are truly realistic.

While I enjoyed Nora and Tom’s romance, it is ultimately rather predictable, but the secondary characters were what made it stand out for me. Tom’s grandmother, Maxie is one of my favourite characters in Sunrise Point, and I can only hope that when I’m a grandmother I’ll be just as considerate and loving as she is. I initially thought that she’d turn out to be your typical old-fashioned grandmother, but her interactions with Tom’s potential girlfriend, Darla, proved otherwise. Darla is slightly caricatured, but I do know some women who would think spending over a thousand pounds on a pair of designer boots is reasonable, and plenty who miss out on the joy of good food because they’re too concerned about their weight. Maxie’s witty remarks about Darla’s laziness and eating habits made me laugh out loud in several places, particularly when she suggested to Tom that she should mow the lawn and give Darla the grass cuttings for lunch. Darla’s attitude in general provided plenty of amusing moments in the story, and while I never believed that she was a true rival for Tom’s affection, she created a couple of bumps in the road for Tom and Nora, as well as some light entertainment.

Sunrise Point is a gentle, light romance, and I was surprised by how slow moving it truly was. I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance, mainly because I prefer the old-fashioned values of historical or Amish novels, but the structure of this novel allowed time for both Tom and Nora to develop personally as they got to know each other better, long before they decided to embark on a relationship. The best way to describe their relationship is “sweet”, and it brought many a smile to my face.

To readers who typically read Christian fiction, I must warn that there is one sex scene in this novel, and a couple of references to sexual urges. I read a fair amount of general market fiction and some of my favourite authors include sex scenes in their novels, although most of them tend to focus on the emotions of the characters during the act, not the physical act itself. Sunrise Point’s sex scene was definitely more physical, and some of the descriptions were pretty cringe-worthy, including the awkward reference to the female character becoming “as limp as a noodle”. Generally, I skim-read sex scenes just in case there is some crucial dialogue or internal thoughts as to the relationship between the characters, but in this case, if you don’t care for sex scenes, I’d recommend just skipping this scene altogether. You won’t miss anything important to the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to the Virgin River series, and while I was initially a bit bemused by the subplot revolving around another resident in the town, I expect that his story will be continued in a later book in the series. This isn’t a series where you can pick up one book and not end up wanting to read the ones that come before or after it, and I guarantee that fans of contemporary, small-town romances will get caught up in the lives of the residents of Virgin River, just as I did. Sunrise Point is a great induction into this series, and I won’t be forgetting Nora’s stubbornness or Maxie’s wit any time soon.

Review title provided by Mira.

Love on the Range - Jessica Nelson

GENRE: HISTORICAL ROMANCE 
PUBLISHER: LOVE INSPIRED/HARLEQUIN 
PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 03, 2012 
RATING: 8 OUT OF 10 – VERY GOOD 

PROS: Unique heroine; unusual subject matter for a historical novel 

CONS: Jumped point of view confusingly in the middle of scenes; action scenes were rushed 

As much as Gracelyn Riley hates to be separated from her best friend, Connie, she couldn’t be more excited about being shipped off to Oregon to stay with her Uncle Lou until the Spanish influenza epidemic calms down in Boston. Rumour has it that the infamous Agent Striker has been spotted not far from her uncle’s ranch, and if she can get an interview with him, this could be her big break into journalism. Gracie is tired of living under her parents’ control and a career as a journalist would allow her to avoid being married off to an unappealing society gentleman. 

Unfortunately her initial experiences at the ranch are unexciting, and Gracie spends more time scrubbing floors and helping to prepare meals than hunting for clues about Striker. The townsfolk in nearby Burns won’t say a word about Striker, and the only interesting aspect of life with Uncle Lou is his neighbour, Trevor. Gracie isn’t entirely sure what Trevor’s relationship to her uncle is, but the scar on his face certainly makes him intriguing. She’s convinced that if anyone knows anything about Striker, it must be Trevor. But as their horse-riding lessons progress into something far deeper, Gracie has to figure out where her heart truly lies. Up until she met Trevor, she was convinced that she’d leave Oregon as soon as the flu epidemic was over and she had an interview with Striker, but now she’s unsure. But her attraction to Trevor doesn’t stop her poking her head into places where it doesn’t belong, and sooner or later, she finds herself involved in a situation that’s far more dangerous than she ever expected to find on a ranch in Oregon... 

I’m particularly fond of strong heroines, but they’re not as easy to come by in historical romances as you might expect. Often the archetypal romance heroine is the kind that continually needs rescuing or is prone to fainting at the drop of a hat. I’d like to say that Gracelyn was sort of a mixture between a strong heroine and the typical romantic heroine, but she’s not quite that straight forward. She seemed very strong at times and was incredibly sure of herself and what she wanted to do in life, but at the same time she was only twenty, and still quite vulnerable and naive. While she wanted nothing more than to travel around Oregon on a horse, hunting for Striker, she didn’t realise what a dangerous position she was putting herself in. Headstrong, but not always wise in the ways of the world, Gracie was a very appealing heroine, the kind that I cared about but was also quite proud of in places. It’s not often that I find this mixture in historical novels, especially category romances such as the Love Inspired line that Love on the Range is part of. 

The characterisation in this novel isn’t the only thing that made it stand out for me. Love on the Range happens to be the second novel set in 1918 that I’ve read in 2012, and while the subject matter and plot of Jessica’s novel are very different from Murray Pura’s The Wings of Morning, both of them made me realise what a precarious time period it was to live in. Not only was the First World War on the verge of ending, but the country was being destroyed by a horrible Spanish flu which many of the returning soldiers caught when they returned home. Technological changes were taking place, some of which hadn’t yet reached Uncle Lou’s ranch in Oregon, such as a telephone, which separated Gracie from her friends and family in Boston. It was also a difficult period for women, who were starting to wear trousers and work in factories due to the necessities of contributing to the war effort, but other women were determined to put an end to this liberalisation once the war was over. Gracie struck me as a woman stuck between two worlds, protected by her conservative upbringing yet determined to embrace all of these new possibilities that were opening up for women, particularly by wearing trousers and writing articles for a newspaper. 

While I loved the plot and characterisation of Love on the Range, I did struggle when it came to some of the structural issues when it came to the story telling. As with many romance novels, Love on the Range was written in third-person point of view but did show the hero and heroine’s perspective on matters. I definitely prefer novels that show the hero’s point of view to those that don’t, but I felt that Jessica “head-hopped” between Gracie and Trevor a bit too much for my liking, it could become quite distracting when it occurred in the middle of a scene without me realising it. One minute Gracie would be talking and I’d get a snippet of her internal thoughts, but then three lines later I’d realise that the thoughts I were reading were actually Trevor’s, and that the perspective had changed without me noticing. Incidents like this jerked me out of my reading experience and I often had to reread the whole page before I got caught up in the story again. My other minor issue regarded the action scenes, which definitely broke the monotony of the typical historical romance, but sometimes sped by so fast and were resolved a bit too easily and conveniently for my liking. One of them went by in such a flash that I had to go back and check that I hadn’t missed anything vital. For the most part, my issues with the structuring of certain scenes didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel too much, but they did occasionally interrupt the flow of reading. 

It’s incredibly encouraging to come across such an unusual storyline and protagonist in a debut novel, particularly one in the Love Inspired category romance line, where authors have a smaller number of pages in which to tell their story. Love on the Range will appeal to long-term fans of historical romance, particularly those who are looking for something a bit different that pushes the usual boundaries. While the scene progression of the novel didn’t always flow as well as it could have, I’m confident that this is something that Jessica will be able to improve on in her next novel, which I’ll be keeping my eye out for. 

Review title provided by author. 

Anna's Gift - Emma Miller

GENRE: AMISH ROMANCE
PUBLISHER: STEEPLE HILL/HARLEQUIN
PUBLICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10 

In the latest addition to Emma Miller’s Hannah’s Daughters series, Anna Yoder finds herself receiving a surprising marriage proposal. After watching all of her older sisters marry and leave the family home, Anna longs to be swept off her feet by a suitor, but believes this will never happen since she doesn’t have the pretty face or slim figure of her attractive sisters. So when handsome widower Samuel Mast asks her to marry him, Anna can’t help but wonder if he’s only interested in finding a mother for his children. As much as she enjoys spending time with Samuel and his children, teaching the girls to bake and cooking for his family, Anna isn’t quite ready to say yes. With the whole community speculating his proposal, she needs to know whether or not Samuel truly cares for her before she can make a decision. Soon, Samuel finds that he’s having to go through the motions of teenage courtship – and getting to know his potential bride a lot better!

Having read Courting Ruth, the first novel in this series, a couple of months ago I was pleased to have the opportunity to catch up with the Yoder sisters again. Although I skipped on to the third book in the series, I can’t say that I felt like I’d missed anything vitally important to the plot. As with all Love Inspired novels, Anna’s Gift is designed to be read as a standalone novel, although readers who are familiar with Emma Miller’s books will enjoy seeing brief appearances from previous characters. There are also some new additions in this book, as Anna’s younger sisters return from caring to their aging grandmother, and the sisters, grandmother and an elderly aunt return to Delaware to move into the Yoder home.

While I don’t think that I enjoyed Anna’s tale of courtship as much as Ruth’s, it was still a very sweet story. Anna was a very endearing character, and the development of her relationship with Samuel made a very fun read. This book had two of my favourite contrivances – snowstorms and children. When the community is struck by heavy snow while Anna’s mother is out of town, Anna finds herself spending a lot of time with her Samuel and his family, who are their closest neighbours. While normally an unmarried Amish couple wouldn’t be allowed to spend so much time together unsupervised (Samuel’s children and Anna’s learning disabled sister would not count), this set-up allowed for Anna and Samuel to get to know each other better before Samuel broached the subject of married to Anna’s mother. It’s not until later in the book that the have a proper courtship, which is a strange experience for both of them – Anna having never had a suitor before despite being older than the other courting teenagers, and Samuel having been previously married. It was interesting to read about a couple in such a situation, as few Amish romances have this set up of an older, widowed man marrying a much younger woman.

There were two very realistic issues explored in Anna’s Gift, the first of which related directly to Anna’s character. Not being slender like her sisters, Anna has always felt unworthy of a man’s attention, which is further proven by the fact that none of the boys in her community are romantically interested in her. So when Samuel expresses his desire to marry her, Anna can’t help but wonder if he just wants someone to cook, clean and look after his kids. After all, who would want her – practically an old maid, a bit larger than the other women her age and clearly been on the shelf for a while? Her aunt and cousins don’t make matters easier for her but continually suggesting that Samuel could never want her for who she is, making Anna more worried about whether she’s about to enter a marriage of convenience. While the concern over marrying someone for comfort rather than love is one often discussed in Christian novels – particularly historical romances – few realistically portray a young woman’s anxieties over whether her appearance makes her deserving of a husband. As someone who was always a bit too gangly and skinny as a teenager, with the added bonus of glasses and braces, I can sympathise with Anna’s worries over her looks, and I’m sure many other readers will find this makes her a relatable character.

The third book in the Hannah’s Daughters series also sees the return of Anna’s younger sisters, along with her grandmother and great aunt, opening up the floor to explore another very relevant issue – dementia. While it’s never overtly explained what illness Anna’s grandmother suffers from, or whether it is indeed Alzheimer’s, all of the women in Anna’s family have to adjust with their grandmother’s steady decline. From making inappropriate comments to strangers in the supermarket to believing that her son is still alive, she takes her toll on the Yoder family, particularly Hannah, who her mother-in-law is always finding fault with. I found the treatment of Anna’s grandmother very touching, especially seeing how the Amish make caring for their elderly relatives a priority in their lives. This part of the story will particularly resonate with anyone who has witnessed a family member struggling with dementia or Alzheimer’s, and some of the grandmother’s escapades will definitely put a smile on your face!

Not all Christian romance readers are fond of the shorter, category novels from Love Inspired, but I do encourage fans of Amish fiction to give Emma Miller’s series a try – you might find yourself pleasantly surprised! Anna’s Gift would make the perfect stocking filler for the romance fan or an introduction to the genre for a teenage girl. I thoroughly enjoyed the latest instalment in the Hannah’s Daughters series and definitely hope to see more from Emma Miller in the future.

Review title provided courtesy of Steeple Hill at Harlequin. 

Baby Bonanza - Maureen Child

Twins? The startling revelation that his affair with Jenna Baker had produced two little boys was almost impossible to grasp. Tycoon Nick Falco had never considered himself the settling-down type, yet now that fatherhood had been thrust upon him, he was determined to give his sons his name. But their mother wasn't about to let him back into her life...at least not without those three little words Nick had never, ever said.

Right now I'm trying to immerse myself in books that I don't care about too much so that I can dip in and out of them easily while I work on coursework. "Baby Bonanza", a free download from the eHarlequin website, is one of these books. I'll admit, I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I expected. I planned to read the first few pages to have a giggle then delete it from my Kindle, but it was interesting enough that it kept my attention and I read 20% in one sitting. Unlike the Harlequin Presents books that I'd read previously, and wrongly assumed were similar to Silhouette Desire novels, there were only two sex scenes and they were surprisingly well written. I don't generally read books with sex scenes, but these I felt were at least realistic and made sense in the context, rather than being thrown in in order to fill a quota. While the hero was the typical alpha male that I never warmed to in the slightest, I did like the heroine who could stand up for herself and didn't need Nick in order to get on in life. That said, most of the book focused on attraction and not on developing relationships. While Nick claimed he loved Jenna, I never saw any signs of it and I wondered whether their relationship could survive without the sex. So, this was a good in-between book that was a quick and easy read, but I won't be rushing out to read anything else from the Desire line due to the lack of character and relationship development. But if you enjoy romance novels with plenty of passion, desire and attraction then this is definitely the book for you. 6/10

Murder in Plain Sight - Marta Perry

There are secrets buried in Amish country...

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community… and believes in the boy's guilt.

Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

While so many of the Amish novels that are currently saturating the market are focused on love and romance, Marta Perry tackles an entirely different subject - can the Amish kill? When a local English woman turns up dead in a barn, along with an unconscious Thomas Esch clutching a hammer, the residents of Lancaster don't doubt for a second that he committed the crime. But his English neighbour, Geneva Morgan, is convinced of his innocence. Trey Morgan doesn't share his mother's opinion but grudgingly decides to shadow the big city lawyer that she hired in order to protect his mother's involvement in the case. Jessica Langdon isn't pleased with Trey's presence, merely wanting to settle the situation in order to keep her job in Philadelphia, but a series of disturbing threats and incidents cause her to look to Trey for help. Was the murder more than a drunken mishap? Are Jessica and Trey getting themselves involved in something sinister and dangerous?

This is only the second novel of Perry's that I've read, but I'd definitely recommend her to any fans of romantic suspense or Amish fiction. Marta certainly understands the Amish and portrays them accurately, and she's also excellent at getting your heart thumping. I was reading this late at night but couldn't bare to put it down in case something exciting happened in the next chapter! While I did suspect the murderer early on in the story, this didn't detract from my interest. I was intrigued by the connections between the threats made against Jessica, and wanted to know how everything somehow linked back to the Morgan family. Geneva Morgan was a wonderful character, as was Leo Frost. I always appreciate having well developed secondary characters in the background to move the story along. Geneva held the story together, much like the grandmother in Perry's Hide in Plain Sight (#1 in the Three Sisters Inn series from Love Inspired Suspense), and I thought it was realistic that Jessica have Leo aid her with her legal work, as she couldn't possibly handle such a complicated case on her own.

The only minor setbacks to the mystery that I'd have to mention would be being able to spot the killer early on (although maybe I just read too much Nancy Drew as a child!) and the semi-monologue that he gave at the end of the novel when he revealed himself. Like I commented in my review of Hide in Plain Sight, it just seemed a bit cheesy and predictable. I can't really put my finger on what I didn't like about what he said or the way he said it, but it irked me in some way. And while I enjoyed the romance between Jessica and Trey, there were a couple of the typical "I touched him and felt a spark shoot up my arm" moments that you always get in romance novels that I wish authors would get rid of; they're just too over-used. Their Happily Ever After ending also seemed a little bit rushed.

But despite the minor issues I had with this book, I did throughly enjoy it. If I don't get a review copy of its sequel, Vanish in Plain Sight (June 2011), then I'll probably end up purchasing it myself as I have a feeling that the loose ends that weren't completely tied up at the end of this novel will be explained in #2 in the series. Although a bit rusty in places, this is an excellent addition to the growing Amish genre and a pleasant (or perhaps not!) break from the typical baking escapades and romantic picnics. 8/10

Many thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.