Something Sweeter

June 1, 2014
Allison Lane swings into Sweet, Texas, when her father gets engaged to a woman he's just met; she doesn't expect to find a family who embraces her as their own or a man who might make her believe in love.After finally extricating himself from a horrible marriage to her mother, Allison's father is engaged again. As an event planner, Allison has seen too many couples fail after the wedding, and her parents' long-lasting marriage was hellish enough to make her question the institution. So when she visits the small Texas town her father moved to, she expects to find another self-centered, money-hungry gold digger. Instead, she meets down-to-earth Jana Wilder and her sexy sons-including veterinarian Jesse, the brother with the wildest reputation. Jesse has paid lip service to swearing off relationships, but he knows he wants to settle down someday. And someday might be right around the corner if he can convince the luscious Allison to overcome her own distrust of love; that possibility seems ever closer when Allison decides to stay in Sweet to help his brother Reno plan his obstacle-plagued wedding. Allison grows closer to the Wilders, begins to fall for Jesse and has started to work through her own inhibitions when disaster strikes in the only relationship she ever had faith in. Well-written and sweetly seductive, the romance is a fun and touching read. None of the conflict ever builds to truly believable tension, and though author Terry tries to persuade us that Allison's resistance to relationships is justified, we aren't completely convinced. Nor does Jesse's big reveal justify his long-standing angst, though that back story is also moving.Not as dramatic or heart-wrenching as it intends to be but still a warmhearted and romantic read.

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