One summer, two sisters and a chance to start over…
Before the burglary that shattered her confidence, Phoenix Rose had a fiancé, a successful store and a busy, happy existence. After months spent adrift, she takes a job at the lakeside resort of Cooper’s Charm. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, friendly colleagues and a charismatic, widowed boss, Phoenix is slowly inching her way back into the world.
Visiting Cooper’s Charm to check up on her little sister, Ridley Rose impulsively agrees to fill in as housekeeper. Still reeling from an ego-bruising divorce, she finds satisfaction in a job well done—and in the attention of the resort’s handsome scuba instructor.
For Phoenix and Ridley, Cooper’s Charm is supposed to be merely temporary. But this detour may lead to the place they most need to be, where the future is as satisfying as it is surprising…
Review:
>A cute story!
Cooper’s Charm is the name of the resort at the center of the series, so named (against his will, essentially; though he hasn’t bothered changing it either) after its owner. Cooper’s a stand-up guy who has moved on after his wife’s violent death give years ago, but hasn’t really moved on romantically…yet. Phoenix has her own issues, having left her last relationship after her own violent encounter (an armed robbery) and love is the last thing she’s looking for–regaining confidence in herself and forging a new path for her life.
You know where this is going, right?
There’s not a lot of surprises here–you know who’s going to end up with whom, though adding in Phoenix’s sister Ridley adds a nice dash of spice (is it wrong to think her relationship was actually more interesting than Phoenix’s most of the time?)–even the suspense portion felt kind of…non-suspenseful. It was really on the outside of things for most of the book, and was resolved really, really quickly in the last few pages of the book.
In all this was a sweet summer read about finding yourself and starting over–it’s not a gripping page turner but instead a pleasant way to spend a few hours this summer.
Rating: 3 stars / B-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the author:
Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.
Each year Lori donates all proceeds from one book to charity. You can see the benefit romance books here: http://lorifoster.com/benefit-books/
“Why are you excited to read Cooper’s Charm?” Beagles and good books are both terrific!
I’m a fan of Lori’s books and this one sounds like a fun summer read. Thanks for sharing!