Tag: Small Town Romance

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Find Me at Whisper Falls (Oaksmith)-BoT-Small Town Romance-Available Now

I am a big fan of this author’s books. The characters are usually relatable, the settings are lovely, and the stories are charming.

This book is no exception.

You can find descriptions elsewhere, but in a nutshell, Freya and Trent were rivals in vet school. And then they find themselves both vying for the same job in small-town Whisper Falls.

It’s a romance, so you know what’s supposed to happen in the end, but as usual, the joy and fun is in following the path with them as they try to get there.

I will say that this one was a little interesting for me because I had a difficult time connecting with Freya. I felt that she was a little colder than past heroines in this author’s stories. I guess she was just more prickly than usual?

Regardless, that coolness made it difficult for me to root for her at first. I get that it was probably in response to past experiences, but I found myself feeling more for Trent than for her. It seemed like she brought her frustrations all on herself.

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I was amused at how Trent dealt with her. I think he felt the same way I did about her – she was prickly in vet school, and now he has to compete with her for a job. But I also think he was more patient with her than I would have been.

There are the usual small-town characters that add color to the story, but they’re never overbearing or distracting. It’s all just part of the background. The author has either lived in a small town or done her research because a lot of it was familiar.

Not because I’d read the story already, but because I’ve lived in small towns, and in many ways, they’re similar: cast of characters, distrust of newcomers, eager to preserve their town the way they know and love it.

That was a unique aspect of this book as well. The author has an added plot line about tech companies buying land to build data-mining offices. It seemed a little random, but it was an interesting side story.

Anyway, it was different to root for the guy instead of the girl for a while and that side plot kept it from being boring. Not that her books ever are. It was just a different spin than usual.

As always with this author, I recommend this charming small-town romance.

Author Bio:
Ellyn Oaksmith is the USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of the Blue Hills Series, featuring the Alvarez family. After graduating from Smith College and attaining her MFA from The American Film Institute, Ellyn began her writing career as an award-winning screenwriter in Hollywood. Her books explore the same themes as her screenplays: grit, humor, family and love. Ellyn lives on one of Seattle’s many hills with her husband and spends as much time as possible on the water as part of a competitive rowing team.

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Long Walk Home (Oaksmith)-Books On Tour-Feel Good Romance-Available Now

By now, visiting Chelan feels like a refreshing quick vacation to a memorable location. The Alvarez sisters are still working to save Blue Hills Vineyard, succeeding in little steps.

In this book we get Lola’s story. She’s the youngest, and even though she was in the first two books, this is the first time that I really felt that I got a grasp of who she was.

I’m pretty sure that the author plotted it that way, giving each sister the focus deserved in each of the books. I like how this was done, because it not only gave each of the sisters the spotlight, but it also laid the groundwork for the family drama.

And boy, does that play a part in this one.

Lola has some great ideas to help expand the success of the winery, but as the youngest, she isn’t taken very seriously, especially by Carmen (the oldest).

There’s some typical sibling rivalry here, as well as some stereotypical characterizations. The hard-headed oldest sister, the free spirit younger sister fighting for her voice to be heard…anyone with siblings will recognize the dynamics.

It doesn’t help Lola that her first love, Gus, has come back to town, making it difficult for her to concentrate on her plans to show Carmen how profitable her ideas can be.

As a fan of cooking shows, I especially liked the scenes in the kitchen. Neil was an especially memorable character because he was just like several well-known tv chefs.

Blue Hills Vineyard reminds me of the vineyards in Northern Virginia – I have many fond memories of tastings and overnights there. The descriptions in the book are vivid enough for me to picture the entire layout in spite of being in a different state.

Shout out to Daisy as well. I felt a special affinity for her because I have a dog with one blue eye and one brown eye. So yeah, I related to a dog in the story.

The romance is sweet, the characters are realistic, and the setting is idyllic. Sometimes that’s all you need for the perfect read.

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Author bio:
Ellyn Oaksmith is the USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of addictively fun love stories. She has never run a winery, been attacked by drones or nearly drowned someone but she loves putting her characters in challenging situations. Ellyn also enjoys chatting with readers on social media. Especially when she should be writing.

Ellyn began her writing life as a screenwriter in Los Angeles which, outside of writing hours, is exactly as crazy as it seems in the movies. After hightailing it back to her native Seattle, Ellyn began writing comedic romances and never looked back.

Ellyn lives in Seattle with her husband. She’s part of a competitive rowing team. You can often find her on Lake Sammamish rowing in the dark.

Author website: www.EllynOaksmith.com
Facebook: @EllynOaksmith
Instagram: @EllynOaksmith

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Home at Summer’s End-Books on Tour (Review)-Sweet Romance-Available Now

I love this series and have been hooked since Harper’s story in The Magnolia Sisters. My affection for the Anderson family and the town of Hillsboro grew through Sweet Pea Summer and The Perfect Hideaway.

But I want to be clear that I have been avidly waiting for Rose’s story. Even though I can relate to may, I identify with Rose the most out of the main characters we’ve met. I especially had to laugh when Harper called her “Shakespeare” because that was my nickname (for a while) when I was growing up.

But I digress.

If you’ve read the rest of the series, you know what to expect – realistic characters in a bucolic setting with incidents, interactions, and events that all feel perfectly normal. The author has a talent for making the reader feel like they’re a townsperson of Hillsboro. Something is comforting in the familiarity of all of it.

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Aside from sharing a nickname, I really dig Rose’s character. I like how she’s prickly on the outside but is also whip-smart and has a sharp sense of humor. The scheme she cooks up with Cole is something I would absolutely think of.

And Cole? Well, what can I say about him? He’s an actor without a lot of pretenses, who is much deeper than his good looks. We all hope that our movie crushes have that simpler nature on the inside, no?

I was a little bit unsure of his original reasoning for wanting to enter into the “romance” with Rose, because it seemed a little underhanded – and frankly naïve. But it was soon apparent that even his best-laid plans were going to be all screwed up.

As with other books, you know what’s inevitable, but the fun is getting there with the characters. I’m sad that this was the last sister (including Annie), but I’m really hoping that the author sees fit to give us another visit to Hillsboro.

I’m not ready to leave.

Website: www.alysmurray.com
Facebook: alysmurrayauthor 
Instagram: writeralys
Twitter: @writeralys  

Author Bio:
Alys Murray is an author who writes for the romantic in all of us. Though she graduated with a degree in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London, her irrepressible love of romance led her to a career as an author, and she couldn’t be happier to write these stories! Currently splitting time between her home state of Louisiana and London, she enjoys kissing books, Star Wars, and creating original pie recipes for all of her books. Tobey Maguire is her Spider-Man. 

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Books On Tour (Review): Sweet Pea Summer by Alys Murray

I would be hard-pressed to find a series that makes me feel calmer than this one. There is something about stepping into the world of the Anderson sisters that feels like a comforting hug. I was taken with The Magnolia Sisters, and in re-reading my review, I had to laugh. I didn’t care for May. Ironic, because I loved her as the main character in this book.

To be honest, she had me when she dressed up as Claire from “The Breakfast Club” for Annie’s 80s party. I think my issue with her in the first book was that we honestly didn’t get to see much of her, and what we did, she was pretty negative.

In this installment, with her at the forefront, we finally get to understand why she is so prickly. I’m not going to give it away, but let’s say that she has good reason to have put a shell around herself.

Just like the first book, you know that Tom and May are meant to be together (he’s the Bender to her Claire, and they both have a fondness for British murder mysteries), but their history keeps getting in the way.

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Annie meddles (again – I love this girl and hope she gets her own story even though she isn’t an Anderson sister proper) so that Tom and May are forced to both confront their past and figure out their present and future. It’s not an easy road, and all of the pitfalls they face felt natural to the setting and the people.

The author does a fantastic job of capturing small-town life, from the nearly decade-old gossip to the community pulling together for a festival (pretty sure I worked with Miz Greyson at some point). I think that is what makes this series so likable. The people may get obnoxious and meddlesome, but they are ultimately there for each other.

I especially liked how the author started the book like a storyteller was setting the scene. It completely set the tone for me. That was nicely bookended, in not quite the same way, but with a fitting finish to the story.

I can’t wait to get Rose’s story. And I’m mentioning Annie again because by now she is pretty much an adopted Anderson sister. Can we make this happen?

Author Bio
Alys Murray is an author who writes for the romantic in all of us. Though she graduated with a degree in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London, her irrepressible love of romance led her to a career as an author, and she couldn’t be happier to write these stories! Currently splitting time between her home state of Louisiana and London, she enjoys kissing books, Star Wars, and creating original pie recipes for all of her books. Tobey Maguire is her Spider-Man. 

Website: www.alysmurray.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/alysmurrayauthor
Instagram: www.instagram.com/writeralys
Twitter: www.twitter.com/writeralys
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Book Review: The School Mistress of Emerson Pass by Tess Thompson

I am a huge fan of this author’s Cliffside Bay series, so I was very excited to see that she was branching out into a new series with a historical setting. I am happy to say that all of the trademarks of her writing are still present.

The premise (young, pretty, schoolmistress shows up in a wild west town) is one that is familiar and dear to me. I grew up in Northern California, whose modern history is built on the Gold Rush of 1848-49. I quite literally grew up on stories about people who came from the East to make money to send back home, intending to return but winding up staying.

Field trips were to Sutter’s Mill and ghost towns, and vacations were spent in the Sierra Nevadas, where some mining towns have modernized, but retained their history. The author’s descriptions of Emerson Pass, therefore, felt familiar and allowed me to be comfortable in the setting. She did a great job of bringing the town (warts and all) to life.

I also liked how she had a cross-section of characters filling the town. None of them were caricatures, and they seemed like they could have been built on real people (pretty sure this author does a LOT of research to get things just right). Everything about the characters and situations rang true.

I have to give a special shout out to the Barnes children. I liked how each one had their own personality and weren’t just lumpy children. There is sometimes the tendency of authors to focus on adult characters at the expense of children, but that’s not the case here. This is good, especially considering that Quinn is a schoolmistress – the individuality of all of the children is essential.

I very much enjoyed this book, and I look forward to more visits to Emerson Pass.

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