EFR REVIEWS

TIDEWATER BRIDE   Selah Hopewell seems to be the only woman in the Virginia colony who has no wish to wed. True, there are too many men and far too few women in James Towne. But Selah already has her hands full assisting her father in the family's shop. And now she is in charge of an incoming ship of tobacco brides who must be looked after as they sort through their many suitors.  Xander Renick is perhaps the most eligible tobacco lord in the settlement. His lands are vast, his crops are prized, and his position as a mediator between the colonists and the powerful Powhatan nation surrounding them makes him indispensable. But Xander is already wedded to his business and still grieves the loss of his wife, daughter of the Powhatan chief.  Can two fiercely independent people find happiness and fulfillment on their own? Or will they discover that what they've been missing in life has been right in front of them all along?  Bestselling and award-winning author Laura Frant...

  LOVE NOTE Focused on a career in medicine and not on romance, Willa Duvall is thrown slightly off course during the summer of 1865 when she discovers a never-opened love letter in a crack of her old writing desk. Compelled to find the passionate soul who penned it and the person who never received it, she takes a job as a nurse at the seaside estate of Crestwicke Manor.  Everyone at Crestwicke has feelings--mostly negative ones--about the man who wrote the letter, but he seems to have disappeared. With plenty of enticing clues but few answers, Willa's search becomes even more complicated when she misplaces the letter and it passes from person to person in the house, each finding a thrilling or disheartening message in its words.  Laced with mysteries large and small, this romantic Victorian-era tale of love lost, love deferred, and love found is sure to delight. ★ ★ ★ ★1/2 In the summer of 1865, medical student Willa Duvall, of Brighton, England, discovers an unopened l...

  KEY TO LOVE The only thing Bri Duval loves more than baking petit fours is romance. So much so, she's created her own version of the famous Parisian lovelock wall at her bakery in Story, Kansas. She never expects it to go viral--or for  Trek Magazine  to send travel writer Gerard Fortier to feature the bakery. He's definitely handsome, but Bri has been holding out for a love story like the one her parents had, and that certainly will not include the love-scorned-and-therefore-love-scorning Gerard.  Just when it seems Bri's bakery is poised for unprecedented success, a series of events threaten not just her business but the pedestal she's kept her parents on all these years. Maybe Gerard is right about romance. Or maybe Bri's recipe just needs to be tweaked.  Novelist Betsy St. Amant invites you to experience this sweet story of how love doesn't always look the way we expect--and maybe that's a good thing. ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ Baker Bri Duvall has a job she loves, wor...

schoolhouse icon Ok, we're going to be doing the series talk a little flipped this time around. Prior to Book #2 being sent to me for review, I somehow missed that this was part of a series. So I'll go ahead and discuss Book 2 now, I have Book 1 on order, we'll come back to it shortly. From what I've read so far, it seems like this is one that does have light crossover with characters, but for the most part can easily be read as standalone works. But anyway, to start....  UNTIL I MET YOU (RESTORING HERITAGE #2) When she hears that the small town of Heritage, Michigan, is looking for a new librarian, Libby Kingsley jumps at the opportunity. Little did she know the library is barely more than a storage closet stuffed with dusty, outdated books. What the community really needs is a new building. But the only funds available are those being channeled into the new town square, and the landscape architect in charge of the project wants nothing to do with her plans. All Austi...

*** Scroll down for the update --- 2021 marks the release of Book 3, reviewed below!  3 Sisters Series #1 On A Summer Tide Sometimes love hurts--and sometimes it can heal in the most unexpected way. Camden Grayson loves her challenging career, but the rest of her life could use some improvement. "Moving on" is Cam's mantra. But there's a difference, her two sisters insist, between one who moves on . . . and one who keeps moving.  Cam's full-throttle life skids to a stop when her father buys a remote island off the coast of Maine. Paul Grayson has a dream to breathe new life into the island--a dream that includes reuniting his estranged daughters. Certain Dad has lost his mind, the three sisters rush to the island. To Cam's surprise, the slow pace of island life appeals to her, along with the locals--and one in particular. Seth Walker, the scruffy island schoolteacher harbors more than a few surprises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Retired sportscaster Paul Grayson buys 51% owners...

LOVE LETTERS   ** Female manga artist George Asakura uses this format to present short-story style romances, depicting couples who  come together under unique / unusual circumstances. Love Letters #1 Stories 1-5 #1 "Love Letters in the Library" -- Ririko Takase is a Liza Minelli-looking librarian who finds a love letter from a secret admirer left for her at the library's return desk.  #2 "To One Who Doesn't Know Me" -- Bad boy Mosumura Yasushi writes a letter to classmate Katase Rino confessing is admiration / attraction for her. But the letter is actually found by another girl, Ayako, who is moved by his sentiments. #3 "Flowers Blooming in the Snow" -- Lonely girl Miyashita Chiyuki, struggling with depression, finds friendship through letters exchanged with Kumashiro.  #4 "Love Letter Panic" -- Tomboy Hayakawa gets a letter from a secret admirer telling her she's cute, which inspires her to embrace her girly-girl side and start ...

THE HAPPY CAMPER Home is the place to heal, right? At least, that's what Dillon Michaels is hoping as she leaves her disappointing career and nonstarter love life behind to help her grieving and aging grandfather on his small Oregon farm. The only problem? Her eccentric mother beat her there and has taken over Dillon's old room. After a few nights sleeping on a sagging sofa, Dillon is ready to give up, until she receives an unlikely gift--her grandfather's run-down vintage camp trailer, which she quickly resolves to restore with the help of Jordan Atwood, the handsome owner of the local hardware store. But just when things are finally beginning to run smoothly, Dillon's noncommittal ex-boyfriend shows up with roses . . . and a ring. ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ After her career and love life both go south in less than 24 hours, Dillon Michaels decides to move to Oregon to help her widower grandfather run his farm. Upon arrival, Dillon unexpectedly finds that her mother, ...