This Time Around by Denise Hunter, Melissa Ferguson and Kathleen Fuller

This Time Around is a collection of three novelas by Denise Hunter, Melissa Ferguson and Kathleen Fuller. Denise Hunter is one of my favorite romance writers so I jumped on the opportunity to read this collection. Summer's Dream was a cute story. In this story Allie has committed to driving a restored vintage car to her grandparents. Problem is that she doesn't know how to drive a stick shift so she has to humble herself and ask her ex-boyfriend Luke to help her drive the car to its destination. This story was really cute and I enjoyed it. The second story by Melissa Ferguson is Pining for You. It was an okay story but I did not enjoy it as much as the other two novelas in this book. The third story was He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Kathleen Fuller. In this story Sophie is a 35 years old, never married and content running Petals and Posies, her flower shop. Suddenly she has two men vying for her attention but which one is worthy? Is it the flashy slick lawyer Landon or the humble Joe she has known since kindergarden? I have never read any books by Kathleen Fuller. She mainly writes Amish fiction but this one was a modern one and a story that I could relate to. I plan to read more of her works.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

 

Hooked on You by Kathleen Fuller

 Riley McAllister is a struggling artist in New York City and has been there for about 10 years. She never wanted to return to Maple Falls but is called back to help her grandmother who she lovingly calls Mimi to help with Mimi's yarn store after Mimi broke her leg of all things playing baseball. I loved Mimi and her group of lady friends just added humor to the storyline. Hayden Price who went to high school with Riley also returns to Maple Falls after suffering a sports injury to where he is not able to play baseball anymore. He works in his father's hardware store. Now Hayden is an upstanding and well-liked man among Mimi's friend group. Hayden is attracted to Hayden but she puts him at arms length most of the story. It was very hard for me to like Riley. Hayden was so nice and wanted to help her and be a friend to her. I don't know why he didn't give up on her. She was that standoffish. You find out toward the end what her issues are but really were her issues that bad that you have to push people who are just trying to be nice to you away? Overall I enjoyed the story and plan to read the next book in the series. I just hope the next character has a little more warmth.

A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham

 A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham is heartwarming. I loved the relationship of Hazel and Gilbert that went from friendship to a deep and lasting love. Rachel made some bad choices in life and as a result she was sentenced to a reformatory for five years for a crime she did not commit. She came from a loving wealthy family but she was abandoned by them during that time because they did not want her to bring shame on the rest of the family for her deeds. Rachel was flighty and flirty in her younger years but she grew as a woman of strength during her time in the reformatory. She gets a job as a lady in attendance in Gilbert's dental practice. She brings a a hint of fresh air to his practice and is so good with his patients. I loved it that eventually she is comfortable enough with Gilbert to reveal her past. I loved it that he looked past her mistakes and was willing to help her prove her innocence. I loved they mystery and suspense in this book. The book had one annoying character that I disliked and that was Gilbert's brother Eddie. Eddie knew Hazel from her past and was always saying hateful things to her. I disliked Eddie but he did pay a part in solving the mystery of proving Hazel's innocence. I highly recommend this book. It did start out slow for me but quickly picked up speed for me.

Thanks for the Early Reviewer Program at Librarything for providing me a copy of this book to read and review.