Synopsis

Small-town romantic suspense from USA Today bestselling author, Ashley Farley

Casey Hobbs has never met her father. She doesn’t know his identity or where he lives or whether he has children. She’s spent the past three years at her mother’s sickbed, watching cancer eat away her organs and their bank account. Upon her mother’s death, Casey receives a letter containing clues about her mysterious father. With nothing left for her in New York, Casey packs her meager belongings in her mother’s old convertible and heads off in search of Daniel Love.

Casey finds the Virginia mountains charming and the small town of Lovely quaint. Buying time while she determines how best to approach her father, Casey accepts a job as a graphic designer with Foxtail Farm, a boutique winery conveniently located next door to Love-Struck Vineyard. On her first day, she discovers her new boss is at war with the Love children, Casey’s half-siblings.

Weeks pass before Casey meets her father. Casey reminds Daniel of her mother, the true love of his life, and he welcomes her with open arms. But Casey’s half-siblings want nothing to do with her. The stakes are high, and they want her gone. They’ll stop at nothing to protect the family dynasty.

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Review

I am never disappointed by Ashley’s books and this one is no exception. It is a spinoff series of the Hope Springs series and features Ollie and Fiona and a whole new crew of characters including some shady ones from the Love family.

We meet Casey who has ended up in Lovely searching for her father after her mother’s passing. He is also the father of some scoundrels that are harassing Ollie and the land she bought next to their vineyard because she won’t sell it to them. Needless to say, this is going to cause a bunch of friction between many of the characters because Ollie has a hard time separating the bad seeds from the whole family.

I loved the start of this new series. It was nice to revisit some characters but also watch them come into their own and create a new adventure for themselves. The book focuses mainly on Casey but we also get a peek into Ollie and Fiona’s life with this new vineyard. Ollie does seem distracted throughout the book and that could be due to the Love brothers that seem to think that bullying will get them what they want. However, some of her reactions were over the top considering she didn’t stop to ask questions of Casey and what she was or wasn’t doing with her father now that they had met. Hopefully, she calms down in future books because holding onto that much anger does not do her any good.

I enjoyed watching the interactions between Casey and her new family. While she gets along great with her father and brother Sheldon, the other three siblings are spoiled entitled brats. Tables are turned on them by their father and I enjoyed watching them squirm. I can’t wait to see how this progresses in future books.

The synopsis says that this book is romantic suspense and I don’t think it is, at least not the suspense part. To me, it is more family drama than anything else. That doesn’t mean this is a bad book, just don’t expect any real suspense (or at least not the kind I am used to reading).

We give this 5 paws up and can’t wait for the next book in this series, Blind Love.

About the Author

Ashley Farley writes books about women for women. Her characters are mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives facing real-life issues. Her bestselling Sweeney Sisters series has touched the lives of many.

Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she’s lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, a piece of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry, which she still calls home. Through the eyes of her characters, she captures the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kindhearted folk with lazy drawls that make the area so unique.

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