I do enjoy a good romance, and all three of these are interesting and enjoyable. They are very different from one another, one being a family story, another an Amish romance and the last being a story dealing with trauma and PTSD and healing while finding romance.

A Lot Like Forever (Blue Moon Bay #3) by Jennifer Snow

Published August 23rd 2022 by Entangled: Amara

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Lot Like Forever is the third book in the Blue Moon Bay series by Jennifer Snow. In this book we meet Whitney Carlisle and her wonderful fiancé, Trent Connolly. Trent is one of those men who are few and far between. He loves Whitney and is looking forward to getting married and having children. He will do whatever he can to make her happy and make life easier for her, so why is she so hesitant to set a date? She has a secret and is not willing to tell anyone what it is. She is working a lot of hours to pay for her mother’s care and doesn’t want Trent’s help. He wants to know what he can do to support her, but when a secret from his past surfaces, will their relationship survive?

I really enjoy Jennifer Snow’s books, but the non-communication trope is the one that really frustrates me. Both Whitney and Trent are flawed characters which makes them likable as they struggle to move forward together. I loved how patient Trent was with Whitney, especially when he knows she is keeping something from him. As Trent tries to run his own business, he makes sacrifices for Whitney and her mother. As Whitney’s health starts to deteriorate, she has no choice but to finally come clean. The storyline of the young lady working for Trent and her family adds another dimension to the story that I liked, but did figure out. Overall, this is a story of romance, honesty, family, health issues and love. I enjoyed it and would have given it a higher rating if not for the secret keeping issues.

The Forgiving Quilt (Shadow Lake #2) by Lenora Worth

Published November 29th 2022 by Zebra

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Forgiving Quilt is the second book in The Shadow Lake series, but can be read as a standalone story. The series is about independent sisters and the first book is about Abigail King finding her husband, this book is about Eliza. Eliza takes care of the animals at the farm and historic Inn, but when she falls and breaks her leg, she needs to hire someone to help. She is told about a man who is a farrier who would be able to help and when he shows up, it is Levi Lapp, her childhood nemesis as well as the man who broke her heart. Levi wants forgiveness for his actions in the past and even if he can’t win Eliza back, he wants to try. As they spend more time together they begin to realize that there are still feelings there. With the encouragement of Abigail, they may just have a second chance.

I really enjoyed this Amish romance with great characters, an interesting storyline and a chance for forgiveness and love. Eliza was a likable character, but there were many times that she frustrated me. She and Levi had kissed when they were teenagers, but when he left, she felt totally abandoned, which she really needed to get over. Because of the negative feelings Eliza harbors, her sister convinces her to make a forgiving quilt to think about the time they are spending together in the present where they have fun together. As Eliza begins to fall for Levi, he starts to question her motivation and their relationship takes a step backwards. Once again communication is an issue with this couple, but when they finally just share what is in their hearts, it works. This is a story of forgiveness, second chances, family, taking chances, honesty and of course romance. I enjoyed this one and will be reading the first in the series to learn about Abigail’s family.

The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala

Published November 8th 2022 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

3 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐

I enjoy Sharon Sala’s small town faith based series and had high hopes for The Next Best Day. After a school shooting at her school Albuquerque, Katie McGrath moved to Borden’s Gap, Tennessee for a fresh start. She has a lot to heal from, abandoned at birth, raised in foster care and being dumped by her fiancé as well as PTSD from the school shooting, Katie plans to take the summer to get to know the town and her neighbours. She meets the twin girls across the street while they are walking their dog and she befriends them. Their father, Sam Youngblood is the local police chief and he offers his support to help her adjust. With the wonderful people in town and the cute neighbours, she finally begins to heal.

I am going to start by saying although I enjoyed this story, it was just full of way too many tragic situations. I love reading about people overcoming tragedy and bad experiences, but Katie had them coming at her from everywhere. I will say that I loved Katie’s character and I was happy to see her find romance and a family, but there were other things that I just didn’t like. Sharon Sala always includes more than one storyline and this one continued to explore the story of Katie’s ex-fiancé, which I really didn’t care about. Throw in a storyline about a drug cartel and it just went over the top for me. A story of second chances, healing from trauma, community and family would have been far more enjoyable without Mark’s story.

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