ARC REVIEW The Christmas Wishing Tree by Emily March

Eternity Springs #15, Finally, I have been waiting on Devon Murphy's story since he first showed up as a teenager in book 4, Lover's Leap. I love Emily March and this series it's another series I buy in paperback. The whole theme for the series is that Eternity Springs is a place where broken hearts come to heal, so you know it's going to get emotional, I was crying a quarter of the way into the book. Another thing you know about this series is that it will be funny at times with quirky characters and even sillier dogs but also hope; the characters always remind each other there is always room for hope and that things have a way of working out for the better especially when there is trouble everyone is willing to pitch in to help.

I love it when characters kind of fall for each other before they meet face to face, in Devon and Jenna's case it's through phone calls. Jenna's adopted son Reilly was given a phone number to Santa who he ended up calling was Devon. With it being Christmas Devon didn't want to break a little boy's heart so Devon plays along. Devon calls back hoping to get Reilly's Mom but the phone goes unanswered when Jenna finally answers the phone it's clear she's distraught after confirming his story with Devon she agrees to play along too and Reilly can continue to call Santa. Jenna and Devon continue to talk too only knowing each other as Santa and Reilly's Mom. But on New Years Eve something horrible happens and Jenna cuts off contact with Devon before he can say goodbye to Reilly.

Having heard all about Eternity Springs from "Santa" Jenna decides Reilly needs a little heart healing after what happened the previous year and they spend Christmas at Angel's Rest in Eternity Springs. After meeting Celeste and seeing Reilly turn back to the boy she knew before she understands why "Santa", Celeste, and just about everyone else calls Eternity Springs the place where broken hearts come to heal. But two months later and once again something happens to send Jenna and Reilly running. Later that summer Jenna and Reilly are living in an RV off the grid and under assumed names come back to visit Eternity Springs hoping no one recognizes them. Not only do they run into all the friends they made at Christmas they meet "Santa" face to face for the first time. When Jenna finally confesses what's been happening Devon and everyone else in town go above and beyond to help her and Reilly and stop their tormentor.

Devon and Jenna's romance was slow burning but the spark was instantaneous starting back with the phone calls. Jenna knew how good of a person Devon was especially with her son and how much he loved his family and his home when she met his family the next year she fell in love a little bit more and then she met him and she was a goner. Devon always felt divided between his family and Eternity Springs and his love for being out on the ocean and his first home Australia. He fell a little in love with Reilly and his Mom and even though it was supposed to be goodbye he kept his Santa phone just in case Reilly made contact again and since then no one could live up to the fantasy of "Reilly's Mom" until he meets her in person and she exceeded his fantasy but he doesn't think he can take her away from her new life and up root Reilly and take them to Australia so he tries not to love her but it's easier said than done. Overall, this was a wonderful read. I absolutely adore this series. I loved Reilly and his thirst for knowledge he is such a cute kid. Boone McBride, oh well, maybe the third time's the charm.  

ARC REVIEW The First Kiss of Spring by Emily March

 Eternity Springs #14, Eternity Springs is where the heart goes to heal, and we've seen that in the previous thirteen book from near death experiences to falling in love again. Emily March has covered a wide range of issues and and trauma for these people and it never gets old, I love this series more now then when I first found it. It's the perfect place to fantasize about living there, about soaking in the hot springs and just letting the place heal whatever maybe wrong with your heart, to talk with Celeste, the town's personal angel, and getting some of her sage advice. Reading these books almost makes me homesick for a place that's never existed.

Josh Tarkington thinks he has the worst luck ever, an F5 tornado took the life of his fiancee and her daughter and then twice more a tornado destroyed his home, business, and once again the life of someone he cared about; moving out of Tornado Alley seemed the wisest thing to do. When Brock his foster brother invited him to Eternity Spring Josh thought it sounded like the best place to start over. Caitlin Timberlake didn't like Eternity Springs when her parents decided to leave Denver for the quaint little Mountain town but it grew on her and now no other place feels more like home, except she lives in NYC. Caitlin has some major life changes planned while she enjoys her work in NYC and everything she's experienced living there it's time she does something she actually loves; that means moving to Eternity Springs and starting a much needed daycare. 

Josh and Caitlin have chance meeting on a gondola ride (no not the flat bottom boat you find in Italy the electric ones that go up and down mountains). When it gets stuck Josh and Caitlin have plenty of time to talk and get to know each other and not to mention the adorable wheelchair bound Dachshund, Penny. It's not until later when Caitlin's parents suddenly appear does Josh realize Caitlin is one of those Timberlakes. Josh not waiting to upset his new life in Eternity Springs decides it best not to pursue Caitlin. Caitlin has other plans and when she moves to Eternity Spring's she is almost certain she is already in love with Josh and is determined nothing is going to stop her from dating him. Starting first with a "Friend Affair" it isn't long before Josh and Caitlin decide to make a real thing of it and come out publicly as a couple. It isn't long after that then things start to go wrong. Josh has been pretty open about his past except for what came before his time in the foster system and when Josh is hit by a car everything about his childhood and the troubles that come with it are forced to come out. Is Caitlin's love strong enough to understand why Josh lied about it or is this finally going to push Josh over the deep end to the point of no return?

Overall, it is another outstanding novel from Emily March. I love the Journal entries in between the chapters it gives you a real good feel for the character and why that part was kept a secret. The side story with Mac and Ali was just as heartbreaking as the main story. Once again Eternity Springs works it's magic.       

ARC REVIEW A Stardance Summer by Emily March

Book 13 of Emily March's Eternity Springs series and it is still going strong. The large cast of characters can be off putting because it is very obvious they have past books and if you are like me it will bug you until you find out the full story, lucky me I have read them already. It really is not necessary to read the entire series or in this case both series since this one has characters from both Eternity Springs and the Callahan Brothers/ Brazos Bend series because their stories aren't pertinent to Brick and Lili's story and if it does come up what is needed to know is explained, but it's a nice tease to get you to read the other books. The only really confusing thing (even for me and I've read the books) was explaining the connection between the two series and the history of the Callahan boys, and it got repetitive.

Liliana Howe needed her parents guidance and when they weren't there for her she was to beat to fight she ran away instead. She joined the Tornado Alleycats, an all women's camping club lead by Lili's landlady and good friend. With her career in tatters and nothing to keep her Oklahoma she sells her car and buys a truck and fifth wheel and drives up to Colorado with the Alleycats for the summer to rediscover herself. Brick Callahan wasn't always Brick Callahan, he lost his mother young and was put in a foster home and was later adopted by the Christophers back then he was known as Mark Christopher. That is who Lili knew as a child, her brother's best friend who she had the worst crush on, but he never noticed her as anything but Derek's little sister. Unfortunately Brick had his head stuck up his butt and was completely enthralled with manipulative and two faced girl who later broke his heart. Brick vowed never to fall in love again.

Brick is amazed that this is the same freckled and skinny girl that he grew up with except now she's all curvy and sexy like a pin-up girl. However she makes him feel he's not going to let those sexy freckles deter him from his own rules. Lili on the other hand is in the mood to break some rules and as she's trying to find a new path in life she wants to live it to the fullest and that includes a summer romance with the guy she fell in love with in high school. Lili challenges Brick in every way and everyone but them can see just how perfect they are for each other. It takes not just magic of Eternity Springs and Celeste but everyone in Brick's family and Lili's own guiding angel Patsy to heal and move on for the both of them but is Brick as dense as his nickname implies and and let's Lili to slip between his fingers.

Overall, once again I was up all night reading this book. A lot of little things happen in the book that leads up to the romance and the building of the relationship and it all makes a great story. It's an emotional read with great humor and quirky characters. Dealing with both their insecurities is harder to let go then they anticipated and Lili and Brick both realize too late what happened, but between Celeste and Patsy they are both confident in Brick and Lili's future together, Lili and Brick just have to get to that point too. It is an easy romance to read compared to some of the other books in the series, I loved that the characters even get that and point it out.

 

ARC REVIEW Heartsong Cottage by Emily March

"Coincidences are an angel's way of working anonymously"

 This is book ten in Emily March’s Eternity Springs series and boy do they just keep getting better. Admittedly this is one of the darker ones, like with Dreamweaver Trail; but like all the others it’s about finding hope after all seems lost. Eternity Springs is a place for lost souls go to heal, to find their way again, to find a new purpose and to just maybe find love again. Heartsong Cottage is a heart wrenching story with a hopeful message. Emily March is very good at pulling people through hell and back and then still making them work for their HEA, and it is a tear jerking journey and an absolute pleasure to read.

The two stars in this book Daniel Garrett has given up hope for himself but still reaches out to help others; Shannon O’Toole is fairly new to Eternity Springs and has a mysterious past she has no problems making friends but she really doesn’t want any long lasting attachments.Ending up in Eternity Springs was a case of right place at the right time. Daniel first came to Eternity Springs because of Hope. When Hope’s daughter was kidnapped Daniel was the private investigator who never stopped looking for Holly. Daniel occasionally stops into town to visit and because there is a peacefulness about the small mountain town that calms his hectic life. After Daniel lost his wife and son he closed off never thinking to hope he could have a family again, never thinking he would want one again. Shannon O’Toole is hiding, no one in town knows her secret and she plans to keep it that way. Always busy between yoga class twice a day, renovating an old Victorian house and running the bar at night she never stops. 

"On nights like this, being alone sucks" 

"Daniel didn't want to be alone. He very much didn't want to be alone."

One night, it was just suppose to be one night; slightly inebriated after Gabi and Flynn's wedding and feeling very, very down in the dumps Shannon and Daniel share one wonderful night together. Both with reasons of their own think it's better if it ends after the one night but weeks later and they both can not forget the one night of peace they both felt in each other's arms. Shannon gets a commision to do some decorative art work in some cabins on the outskirts of town. One day a young woman and her son show up, they wandered over from other cabins down the way asking for medicine, he husband is sick and she can’t go into town; turns out the husband is Daniel. Shannon hurts and feels used especially since she just found out she was pregnant. Daniel straightened everything out explaining what was really going on and Shannon tells him she is pregnant. Shannon wasn’t quite expecting the reaction she got. I know something Daniel didn’t know even after a vasectomy you can still produce sperm especially after ten years. After flat out calling her a liar Daniel storms out. Soon after that Daniel realizes just how wrong he was and convincing Shannon isn’t easy. Shannon finally trusting Daniel tells him the truth about her past and now Daniel is on a mission to fix it for her so she can stop looking over her shoulder.

The internal struggle Daniel goes through is a tough one he doesn't feel like he deserves a family again, he's terrified about something else going wrong and going through the trauma all over again. Shannon's conflict isn't just internalized, she fights with her trust issues as well as a very real stalker who isn't afraid to kill. Overall, This is a great addition to the Eternity Spring series. Celeste as always has some very memorable quotes and really is an angel.



I won this ARC from a re-read group on Goodreads. I would like to thank Emily and Paula and the lovely people at St. Martin's Press for my ARC.  

REVIEW Teardrop Lane by Emily March

Book #9 in Emily March's Eternity Springs Series, Teardrop Lane is a wonderful read. I came in late to this series but how Emily March writes each book can be read as a stand alone. Emily March and Eternity Springs is another exception to my no books that make me cry rule for the reason that it's a good kinda cry. The emotional turmoil the characters go through is believable and heart felt and really touches you... in a good way. I love the characters all of them! The introduction to Hunter Cicero in the last book was just a tease to the man he is in this book. Doctor Delicious aka Rosemary Anderson is a beautifully complex and loveable character.

Cicero moved from his beautiful island to Galveston, Texas in order to help his sister take care of her four children while she battles cancer. His nieces and nephews are little hell raisers, a rambunctious bunch and the boys constantly getting into trouble. But things change when unexpectedly his sister catches a virus and with her system being weak from her cancer treatment she dies. The four children all with different fathers were left in the care of the youngest aunt and uncle on her father's side. Cicero not being blood related was just asked for financial support and occasional babysitting. Cicero can finally move up to Eternity Springs to oversee the workshop and glass store he is opening with Gabi. Unbeknownst to Cicero, Gabi entered him in a fellowship for artist of different mediums with the chance to win over a quarter of a million dollars and since he was left to take care of his sisters doctor bills and the financial responsibility for four children he doesn't get to upset.

Dr. Rose Anderson is satisfied with her life she doesn't need a man in her life but when the newest resident of Eternity Springs shows interest and her own heart goes pitter patter and the sight of him she gives in and with each new day she sees so much more to him than anyone else he lets see. Rose tries to keep her past from him but past heartbreak and her secrets must be told. The relationship dynamic changes when suddenly the guardians of Cicero's nephews and nieces change their minds about keeping the kids and the only acceptable option is Cicero taking them. With some adjusting they thrive as a family. Rose is a cancer survivor and is scared of what she will put Cicero and the kids when she finds a lump in her breast. After an argument her and Cicero are stronger than ever. Once again the tears fall when the flaky guardians change their minds again and want the kids back Cicero and Rose would do anything to keep them.