by Jennifer Bernard
About this book
Emmaline Curtis has never been outside the state of Minnesota before, so winning an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii is a dream. Back home, working the family farm and caring for her brother means precious little free time. So when she meets an intriguing hottie at the resort, she’s ready for anything. No last names. No personal details. Just two willing strangers enjoying each other in paradise; then Emmaline can go home with good memories and no chance of awkward future run-ins with Conor.
Conot Gault’s business trip turned sensual excursion is cut short by devastating news – his rock star father has unexpectedly passed. Suddenly he’s heading to a town he’s avoided for seventeen years. Lake Bittersweet, Minnesota. The place where one long-ago disastrous night changed the course of his life. The last person he expects to run into is Emmaline, the quirky knock-out who’s been living rent-free in his head ever since Hawaii… and who just happens to be a local.
Before long, their sizzling attraction heats up again. Their worlds couldn’t be more different – he’s a wealthy financial whiz, she’s a farmgirl. But in a startling twist of fate, Conor and Emmaline discover their pasts are linked in ways they never imagined. Ways that may ensure their fiery affair will never be more than a temporary fling.
Book review
I loved the characters – sunshiney Emmaline and rich but grounded Conor. Both live their lives weighed down by guilt over their families – Conor, coming to grips with his father’s sudden death, feels guilty over never being close with his father and getting to know him well, and never having had a chance to tell his father that he loves him. Emmaline though cheerful on the outside, resolves not to get married ever because she needs to take care of her elder brother who suffers from brain damage caused by an accident years ago which Emmaline feels responsible for.
The story is set against a backdrop of a small town and an accident that happened years ago that links Emmaline and Conor and their families together. I like how the author weaves the details of the event in between the present story, and takes the reader on the journey together with the characters as they learn about the event and understand how that event affects their present day choices.
Rin Ranger 