Thursday 2 June 2016

Saving Laurel Springs by Lin Stepp (Romance, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)


Gorgeous place!
 September 2015, Kensington Publishing, 272 pages, Ebook, Review copy 

Content: some moderate romance, murder, lots of tension, some humour 

Summary from Kensington
In a heartwarming novel set amid the lush splendor of the Great Smoky Mountains, Lin Stepp reunites two kindred spirits in a charming story of first love and surprising second chances. . .

See ya later--and love you forever, Rhea Dean. Those are the words Rhea's childhood sweetheart, Carter Layman, used to say whenever they parted. Not that she places much stock in words anymore. After all, Carter drove off to college in California, promising to make a fortune to help save their families' vacation resort. Instead he stayed there and married someone else. It fell to Rhea to keep Laurel Springs going and she's done just that, working long hours on the camp grounds, buoyed by the beauty of her Smokies home.

Now a widower with a young son, Carter has achieved huge success as a games developer. But he always planned to return to the spring-fed lake and the soaring mountains, to the covered bridge where he and Rhea made wishes and traded kisses. He's coming home to turn Laurel Springs into the place they planned to build together. And as he reveals the truth about his past, Rhea must decide whether to trust in the man--and the dreams--she's never forgotten.

Nayu's thoughts 
My view on the book is  A stubborn heroine is reluctant to have help from a childhood sweetheart when strange goings on are happening to her family's holiday business. And boy do I mean stubborn!  Rhea is so annoyed with what happened in the past with Carter that she absolutely point blank refuses his aid even when she needs it. Thankfully he does some stuff without her knowledge (she does find out later), which while it annoyed her that he had anything to do with her precious home which needs a lot of repairs that give her financial headaches, eventually Carter is able to melt her heart and their compassion for each other shines through. 

Yes it takes an awful long time to get to that point, and I have to say I was so scared for Rhea, especially when the killer got too close for comfort. This is a book I refuse to read at night, because even though I know what happens, it's going to be scary on the reread since my memory is pretty poor and I'll have forgotten what happens (except for the end). I did like the fact that Carter had a son because it added an extra element to the tale, something Rhea couldn't easily predict. I also liked Rhea's community with some characters who'd do anything for her but had to cope with her trademark stubbornness. I had great fun reading her tale and I'm sure you will too! 

Find out more on Lin's website.

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