Review: Better Than Many of the Books Out There
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 15, 2014
Restorations (Book 1 in the Oregon in Love Series) - 3Sara Anderson's grandfather had died and left her his house and farm in a small Oregon town. She's shocked when she finds out Brian Farris, the cad she'd broken up with when she heard him talking about how little he thought of her to her friend, is living in the cottage on the property. What is he doing here and what was her grandfather thinking to let him stay? He had been the only man she'd ever loved, and she didn't want him reappearing in her life after he'd caused her so much pain.Brian Farris came north to Oregon to try to locate Sara. He doesn't understand why she broke up with him, but he does know he wasn't the man he should have been when they dated. Now that he has God in his life, a lot of things have changed, but will Sara ever give him a second chance. He hopes so, but he feels he'll have to take things slowly and prove himself to her. Maybe he can talk her into letting him restore her grandfather's house for a bed and breakfast.I had read LIGHTS AND SHADOWS, the second book in this series, and loved it. Therefore, I began this one with great anticipation. I was sorely disappointed. The plot had promise, and the characters were likeable, but similar things kept repeating over and over and over again. Sara and Brian kept being drawn to each other but doubting and hiding how they really felt. This happened so much the story became dull, monotonous, and boring. There were a few interesting moments, but not enough. At least the book was clean.The one logistical mistake I found was when the lights went out during the storm. Brian came in with his flashlight, but when he got ready to leave and the wind blew the candle out, leaving him and Sara in the dark, nothing was mentioned about his flashlight. This book was okay, but it could have been so much more.Lights and Shadows (Book 2 in the Oregon In Love Series) - 5Julia Wilcox had come to Oregon to stay with her brother and his wife and hopefully recover from a car accident that had left her in a coma for days. She still has excruciating headaches, dizziness, and nausea. She is drawn to her brother's friend, Marc Dorin, but she's afraid of failing at marriage again. She'd thought her love and support would be enough to save Kevin from this drug addiction, but just after the wedding, he was found dead from a drug overdose. She still wonders if she could have done something more to save him. What if Marc leaves her in some way too?Marc is attracted to Julia, but he keeps telling himself she's way out of his league. He's just a simple photographer, and her classy carriage and designer clothes don't fit. Despite his misgivings, he finds himself falling for the beauty. When she takes a consulting job at the college where he teaches photography, he never gets to see her. She's too tied up in her work, and he knows he's just not important to her. Will calling it quits be the best thing, or will he be breaking his heart for good?I enjoyed this sweet romance. The writing didn't flow as smoothly in places as I'd have liked, but the story was good enough it didn't seem to matter. The only grammatical error I found was "between she and Marc." I easily gave it a 4.5, which rounded up to a five. I had read the novel before but reread it in this trilogy. I enjoyed it just as much, if not more, the second time, and that's unusual for me.Milagro for Miranda (Book 3 in the Oregon In Love Series) - 4Miranda Adams attempts to solve the problem of her boss trying to blackmail her into having an affair with him by breaking into his home office to steal the evidence. She had planned it down to the last detail for a time when her boss and his wife would be on vacation. What she hadn't planned on was being caught by his son or shooting him in the leg.Spencer Meyers can't believe the story his dad's secretary gives him, but, when he confronts his dad, it turns out to be true. After finding out the truth, he goes to see her and apologize but finds her in tears, because her mother has just died. She's all alone, so he helps her with the funeral arrangements.I loved this story to start with. It was a bit illogical for Mr. Spencer to give his secretary the security code to his house and the combination to the safe where he kept evidence against her, but I was pulled into the story anyway. I don't think Spencer would have used the word "swoon" either, because it's too archaic. The plot went downhill from there. When Miranda takes off for Mexico to find the half-sister she's just discovered she has, Spencer decides to go with her. This made no sense to me. She's Hispanic, speaks Spanish, and grew up in Mexico until she was eighteen. Spencer barely knows her and doesn't particularly like her, doesn't speak Spanish, has never been to Mexico, and is a Christian with strong morals. I can't see why he would think accompanying her was a good idea. Once they get there, he proves to be more of a hindrance than a help, and their lifestyles and values are totally opposites. All they do is bicker, argue, fight, and say hurtful things to each other. Both are likeable, but I don't see how they fell in love. The ending is also weak,  The situation with Miranda's sister is not solved, and only one of the conflicts between Spencer and Miranda is resolved. I can't see the couple maintaining a relationship. Miranda is impulsive, stubborn in getting her own way, and selfish where Spencer is concerned. She likes to party, have fun in a crowd, and dresses provocatively to get what she wants. Spencer is quieter, classier, and likes to think things through. I think Miranda will continue to drive him up the wall. I don't think any of these statements are spoilers, because, as a romance novel, much of the ending is already understood.I did like the series, but all-in-all, it fell short of what I expected. There were too many problems for me to love it. I did like most of it, however, and would still recommend it. It's interesting, clean, and has likeable characters, therefore it's better than many of the other books out there.