Review - - The Finders Keepers Library

The Finders Keepers Library

by Annie Rains

Somerset Lake - Book 5

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: April 16, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

 

For a gardener blessed with a green thumb, Savannah Collins’s life sure seems like it’s all thorns, zero roses. She has no job, no relationship, and no place to live. With nothing but a car full of plants and her new rescue kitten, Savannah heads to Bloom, North Carolina, to spend the summer with her beloved Aunt Eleanor, a retired librarian.

Her aunt shares her love of literature with the Finders Keepers Library, located in her beautiful garden, where anyone can stop by to pick a book or leave a book. When a sudden summer storm destroys the library and many of the roses, it will take a village to get everything ready for the garden wedding that is planned there in just three weeks.

As the entire town joins in to make the necessary repairs, Savannah bonds with their neighbor Evan Sanders over the books that Eleanor has handpicked for each of them, helping them both find healing and self-discovery. Savannah only intends to stay through the summer, but when an unexpected job offer, a sudden health crisis, and a wayward pre-teen push her future in new directions, she has to wonder whether this is the place that she is meant to be—and the family she’s meant to be with.

PJ's Thoughts:

Annie Rains never fails to engage my emotions with her heart-tugging, small-town, closed-door romances. This one is about starting over, confronting our fears, grief, healing, and hope for the future. Once again, I was pulled into her story, into the lives of her characters, and they into my heart. 

I would love to spend the summer hanging out in Bloom. I want Savannah to teach me all she knows about plants (maybe I'll be able to keep one alive). I want Eleanor to hand pick books for me to read (I'm confident she would pick just the right one). I want to talk books with Evan's daughter in the Finders Keepers Library and cheer her on as she finds her place in Bloom. I want to watch the relationships of Evan and Savannah, Charlie and Eleanor, and Madison and Sam flourish amidst the challenges of everyday life. I want Mallory to find her happy ever after. And, I want to talk to the roses. I may not be able to grow them but I'm confident I'd have no problem divulging my deepest held secrets...and feel better for it. 

Rains made the town of Bloom, and her citizens, come to life for me. I loved how she intertwined several relationship threads together, giving multiple characters journeys without sacrificing the importance of any one person or relationship. There are themes of starting over, second chances, compromise, acceptance, healing, and love. Romantic love, family love, and love among friends. It's a story that made me laugh, made me sigh, brought forth a few tears, and, ultimately, left me with a happy, hopeful heart. How could I ask for more?

 

Review & Giveaway - - The Good Luck Cafe

The Good Luck Cafe

by Annie Rains

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: March 14, 2023

Reviewed by PJ

 

Moira Green is perfectly content with her life. She has a rewarding career and plenty of wonderful friends, including the members of her weekly book club. Then everything in her life goes topsy-turvy when the town council plans to demolish the site of her mother’s beloved café to make room for much-needed parking. Moira is determined to save her mother’s business, so she swallows her pride and asks Gil Ryan for help.

Moira and Somerset Lake’s mayor were good friends once, the kind who could laugh at everything and nothing at all. Until one night changed everything between them. And now, with Gil supporting the council’s plans, Moira is forced to find another way to save Sweetie’s—and it involves campaigning against Gil. Going head-to-head in a battle of wills reveals more than either of them are ready for, and as the election heats up, so does their attraction. But without a compromise in sight, can these two be headed for anything but disaster?

PJ's Thoughts:

Reading an Annie Rains book feels like a cozy visit with good friends. I know before I even turn the first page that I'm about to be immersed into a town I want to visit, populated by people I want to meet. 

In The Good Luck Cafe, change is coming to Somerset Lake with 911 dispatcher Moira and mayor Gil at the center of it. I enjoy a second-chance romance, especially one with complex issues to overcome, and boy howdy, do these two have issues. Their story starts a bit slow but picks up the pace a few chapters in. By that time, we know a bit more about each of them, including Moira's secret and Gil's unrequited feelings. It explains a lot about Moira's dating reticence and Gil's steadfast honor and support. It's going to take a fair amount of growth on both their parts to reach their HEA. Good thing character growth is something at which Rains excels. I have to admit, I wasn't sure about these two at the beginning of the book but they ended up being one of my favorite Somerset Lake couples. 

As always, the main couple is surrounded by a rich secondary cast who add plenty of humor, and emotion, to the story. I love the friendships among these characters as well as the families. Gil's brother, Doug is a particular favorite with an empowering and heart-tugging storyline of his own. Fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy seeing favorite couples from earlier books progressing in their own relationships while readers new to Somerset Lake should have no trouble starting with this book if they wish. Though fair warning, once you meet the other couples there's a good chance you'll be buying their books as well. 

Have you read Annie Rains?

I adore the cover of this book. It would definitely grab my interest on a store shelf. What draws your attention to a book?

Tell me about the book you're reading now. 

I have two copies of The Good Luck Cafe to give away, a print ARC and a print finished copy. Post a comment before 11:00 PM, March 19 for a chance to win one of the books. Two people will be randomly chosen. 

*U.S. only

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Review - - The Christmas Village

The Christmas Village

by Annie Rains

Somerset Lake - Book 2

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: October 12, 2021

Reviewed by PJ

Once upon a Christmas, she gave him her heart. This year, he'll have to win it back again . . .

 
When Lucy Hannigan returned to her childhood home in Somerset Lake, one of the first things she did was join the local book club. And thank goodness, because now that Lucy’s first Christmas without her mother is bearing down upon her, she can use all the help and support she can get.  Especially when she has to take in a tenant and the only person interested is Miles Bruno, her ex-fiance.

Lucy’s friends keep teasing her about the way Miles is trying to make up for his mistakes but forgiving and forgetting isn’t coming easily to Lucy. With bills piling up and her mother’s finances in disarray, however, Lucy isn’t in any position to say no.

As the small town prepares for the holidays and competition heats up in the Merriest Lawn decorating contest, Lucy can’t help feeling like a Scrooge. Her mom loved the holidays and won the contest each year, but as much as Lucy would like to carry on the tradition, she isn’t sure she has it in her to deck the halls this holiday.

Yet when Miles shows up with tons of tinsel, dozens of decorations, and lots and lots of lights, Lucy begins to wonder if maybe the spirit of the season will finally mend her broken heart.

PJ's Thoughts:

One of the things I most enjoy about Annie Rains is the sense of community she creates within each of her series while also writing each book in such a way that it can be read as a standalone. For fans of the series, there are overlapping characters and continuations that are sure to delight but at the same time new readers are able to jump in with any book in the series without feeling lost. 

This second book in Rains' new Somerset Lake series features Lucy, a midwife who returned home a year ago to nurse her mother through a final illness and Miles, her first love who is also the man who shattered her young heart. Will life give them a second chance to get it right?

I love a second chance romance and this one sure tugs at the heartstrings. Both Lucy and Miles are dealing with personal issues, including but not limited to the implosion of their relationship several years earlier. I enjoyed the journey the author took them on, slowly rebuilding their friendship, and trust, then carefully guiding them into deeper feelings. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the book club women as well as the kids from the youth center. They added another dimension to both main characters. Lucy and Miles are both complex characters who evolve quite a bit throughout their journey. I found their growth to be realistic and believable, speed bumps and all. By the end of the book, I was firmly in their corner and cheering on their happy ending.

Readers who enjoy dogs, cats, strong friendships, community involvement, a bit of a mystery, and second chances with your first love will want to add The Christmas Village to their holiday reading list. 

CW: Death of a parent, grief

Review & Giveaway - - The Summer Cottage

The Summer Cottage

by Annie Rains

Somerset Lake - Book 1

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Reviewed by PJ

 

This summer, they’ll learn that home is where the heart is.

Somerset Lake is the perfect place for Trisha Langly and her son to start over. As the new manager for the Somerset Cottages, Trisha is instantly charmed by the property’s elderly residents and her firecracker of a new boss, Vi Fletcher. But Trisha is less enchanted by Vi’s protective grandson Jake. No matter how tempting she finds the handsome lawyer, Trisha knows that if Jake discovers the truth about her past, she’ll lose the new life she’s worked so hard to build. 

Jake Fletcher left Somerset Lake after a tragic loss, but he’s returning for the summer to care for his beloved grandmother, hoping Vi will sell the run-down cottages and finally slow down. There’s just one problem: Trisha, Vi’s new employee. She’s smart, beautiful, and kind, but Jake’s job is to protect his grandmother’s interests, and his gut is telling him Trisha’s hiding something that could jeopardize Vi’s future. However, as they spend summer days renovating the property and bonding over their love for the town, Jake realizes that Trisha is a risk worth taking—if only she can trust him with her secrets . . . and her heart. 
 
Includes the bonus novella Kiss Me in Sweetwater Springs!

PJ's Thoughts:

Annie Rains is an author I discovered only a few years ago but she's quickly become one of my favorites in the genre of sweet but deeply emotional, small-town romance. With The Summer Cottage, Rains launches her new Somerset Lake series, just in time for those lazy summer reading days, and I couldn't be happier. As she did with her long-running Sweetwater Springs series, this first Somerset Lake book introduces us to a community of characters who are vibrant, interesting, and ready to have their stories told. I'm excited to read them all.

Trisha and Jake are compelling, authentic, and relatable characters with whom I connected right away. Jake is such a good guy who deserves a happy ending and after all Trisha and her young son Petey have been through they really deserve a good guy, and a happy ending of their own. Jake and Petey's evolving relationship made my heart so happy and Jake and Trisha's slow-burn journey to love made me smile, sigh, and, yes, shed some tears. It's sweet, fun, and deeply emotional...an Annie Rains' trademark.  

As important to Trisha's life as her relationship with Jake is, the friendships she forms with the women of the Somerset Lake book club are equally important in a different way. I loved the interactions among these women and especially their response when the truth of what Trish's ex-husband did is revealed. And speaking of her ex, I think Rains handles that situation, and especially the impact on young Petey, with sensitivity and care. I appreciate the fact that it's not swept under the rug but dealt with openly and honestly. 

Sweetwater Springs fans will recognize Trisha and her young son, Petey from the last book in that series, Reunited on Dragonfly Lane. It's not necessary to have read that book in order to enjoy The Summer Cottage though I do think it provides an added depth of  understanding of what they faced in their hometown and why a new beginning at Somerset Lake was so necessary for both of them. 

I enthusiastically recommend adding The Summer Cottage to your summer reading list. I'm already looking forward to the second Somerset Lake book, The Christmas Village, which releases October 12, 2021. You best believe I already have it on pre-order. 😀

I love quirky secondary characters in the books I read and there's an exceptionally good one in The Summer Cottage. Tell me about a secondary character who brightened one of your reading experiences.

Have you read any Annie Rains books? Do you have a favorite?

Reading The Summer Cottage took me back to my childhood summers and the lake we lived on. What are your favorite memories from your childhood summers?

The scenes in this book that take place in Jake's plane evoked memories of my first plane rides in my uncle's two-seater. Have you ever flown in a two-seat or four-seat plane? Were you enthralled, like Petey, or terrified, like Trisha?

One person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, June 2, will receive a print copy of The Summer Cottage. 

*Must be 18

*U.S. and Canada only

*Void where prohibited