spousal abuse

Awesome literary debut! Poetic, mysterious.

This is the final book in the Heartland Homecoming Trilogy. We met Sheriff Dale Lewis in the other 2 books. He's the compassionate law officer with integrity.

Unfortunately, Christine Turner has been betrayed by her ex-husband and the law so she doesn't trust her feelings where Dale is concerned. But Dale has such a precious daughter who wants a mommy.

Dale's already been married to a woman with emotional scars. He doesn't want to do it again. But is Christine emotionally scarred? Or can she overcome them with his love?

I cried buckets reading this book. A strong woman. A flawed hero. Wills that clash. Love that endures. Wow!

You want to know what the scariest part of this book is? How does Vicki know this stuff? How did she research for it? I cried enough reading the book without knowing what I'd do if I found out there's even a grain of personal experience involved. And no, I can't tell you what I'm talking about, but I'll give you a hint:

This book was a fascinating look at a pastor and a member of his congregation. I mean, there's no law that says a Pastor can't date a member of his own flock, but what happens when the member happens to be a recent divorcee and her husband wants her back? Suddenly, the pastor is caught in a conflict of interest. How can he come between a man and his wife, ex or otherwise?

Lawyer Trista Van Zandt has recently moved to Chestnut Grove, VA to be close to her brother and his family. A divorcee with an infant, she's struggling to overcome her failed marriage. Lonely, she joins an on-line chat group for singles and starts looking forward to emails from a ‘chat buddy'.

Back Cover:

The royal plane is about to crash! Princess Chantal Thibaudet is rescued from the wreckage by Demetrius Mantheakis,a renowned international security expert,with wealth and a reputation to match.He insists that Chantal go with him to his private Greek island,where he can protect her.

But even princesses can become pregnant when they allow themselves to be swept away by a commoner - especially one as arrogant and sexy as Demetrius.... And a right royal scandal is about to break loose!    

Favourite Scene: (I love how he so simply and easily says "fine") 

He caught her hair in his fist, turned her face back to his. His dark brown eyes held a mixture of pain and anger. "So it is just sex you want."
She didn't understand what he wanted her to say, didn't understand where he hoped this would go. He knew her world. He knew her commitments. He knew what she had to do. "Yes."
The corner of his mouth curved. "Fine."
 

The heroine is a widow, who was abused by her dead husband, and is now a career woman.  She meets the hero, a type of trouble shooter, through his involvement in her family business's problems.  She goes out of town to help at a failing business, and spends time with the hero.  At first he volunteers to help her get over her sexual hang ups, and they have a no strings affair. 

But she wants strings after a while, they have gotten into "relationship" territory, an intimacy and natural sharing has developed.  Her feelings scare her, so she dumps him before he can move on to the next woman (he's got a slight reputation as a playboy) and hurt her.  He respects her decision because he thinks she never wanted a serious relationship anyway.  Once he learns there's hope she might love him back, he's all for marriage. 

This is the next installment in the Mitchells of Riverview series.  This is Max’s story.  In book one, we are lead to understand that Max had a trauma dealing with a police shooting (he is a former cop).  In this story, Delia and her daughter Josie come to the Inn.  Delia is applying for the spa manager position.  The two connect as they are both wounded souls, but will either of them be willing to open up enough for a true connection.

This book reminded me how lucky I was to be married to the same guy for over 30 yrs and still have all my kids alive and healthy. It's the story of Rianne Worth, widow and survivor of spousal abuse. She's trying to make a new life for herself and her 2 kids without having to live with daily violence. And it's the story of divorced ex-cop Jon Tucker, who's already attended the funeral of his son and could be losing his daughter. The last thing he wants is to start up a relationship with next-door Rianne and her 2 kids.

But he looks over the fence and longs for the family-life. Especially someone to fill his lonely arms. Likewise, Rianne looks over at the house he's nurturing back to glory and she sees a solid, dependable man who would be the father that her kids never had.