Review: Great book filled with ghost stories, local lore, and the color of a small town
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 27, 2014
Wow – I wasn’t sure what to think of this book based upon the blurb and Heather Long didn’t disappoint! What a lovely story, steeped in ghost stories, local lore, and all the color of a small town.When MacKenzie Dillon inherits her great-aunt’s house “Summerfield” in Penny Hollow, she puts a monkey wrench in the town’s plans to use her house as part of their revitalization plan. Recently divorced and in a writing slump, Mac finds her writing muse once she moves to Summerfield, and sees this as a chance to start over.Justin Kent has returned to Penny Hollow to settle his father’s estate, which includes a stipulation in his will that Justin and his siblings help the town with their revitalization plans – plans which included purchasing Summerfield. What Justin doesn’t anticipate is the attraction that he has towards MacKenzie, an attraction that has him rethinking his plans of becoming her friend and convincing her to either sell to him or to allow the town to run tours through her property, plans that may now have changed to those of pursing a romantic relationship with Mac and finding alternative ways to help the town.When events from the past try to force outcomes in the present, MacKenzie must figure out what events she needs to re-write to ensure a happy future for everyone.This was a love story, wrapped up in a ghost story, and covered with lots of sweetness and emotion. Justin was perfect – sexy, sweet, smart, caring. MacKenzie was a broken woman trying to pick up the pieces and put herself back together again – all of which showed her inner-strength. It was so much fun watching their relationship develop, watching Mac learn how to trust and seeing Justin realize his true intentions towards Mac.I loved the portrayal of the small town locals – it was such a great representation of how things are in a small town, with everyone in everyone’s business and a grapevine that is more efficient than the internet.Heather Long did a wonderful job weaving the legend of Summerfield into the story – she was able to add the supernatural element without it overtaking the love story that was being told.I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down (I read it in one sitting!). A very well written story that kept me turning the pages!I was given an eARC from the publisher for an honest review.