Book Review: Here In My Heart

Author: Anna DeStefano
Title: Here In My Heart
Publisher: Montlake
Publish Date: Sept 30, 2014
Buy:  Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: The author
Book Blurb: Live and work together, or lose everything that matters…

The ultimatum tilts Dru Hampton’s contented life in Chandlerville, Georgia, on its ear. The man that Vivian, her cantankerous boss and benefactor, wants Dru to partner with—live with—is Brad Douglas, who’s let Dru down every way a man can.

Sheriff’s deputy Brad Douglas has come a long way since his rebellious youth. He’s back home to care for Vivian, his ill grandmother. He’s stayed out of Dru’s way all these years to make up for the hurt he once caused her. Now, the delightfully mischievous Vivian’s dying wish is for them to rebuild at least a working relationship together…and she’s betting on them rediscovering much more.

The family business and the Douglas home that Dru and Brad both cherish will be sold if they don’t resolve their differences. Can these childhood sweethearts make up and reclaim each other’s hearts before it’s too late?

Review: This is a sweet romance that will tug at your heartstrings at every turn. I'm not usually a real fan of second chance stories, when someone has pined after someone for years, in this case seven. All these teenage angsty crushes show up a bit much, but with Anna DeStefano's novella, you have two characters you really can't help but root for.

Brad is really a perfect guy, and as the story progresses, it is hard to imagine anyone hating him for any reason. He's a bad boy turned good, and he's precious and smart and what most gals want in a hero. Dru is feisty and doesn't want to trust Brad after something he did 7 years ago.

This two are at each other's throats but are forced together by the real star of the book, Brad's grandmother, Vivian, who is now on hospice, and has one last wish she wants them to fulfill. I loved Vivian. So feisty and so wonderful. You know she's going to die, but that doesn't stop you from crying when it happens, especially as there was someone that loved her but didn't let her know until it was too later.

The other star of the book is Lisa, one of the Dixon's foster children. She has ADHD and is always ending up in some form of trouble. I loved her. I just wanted to hear someone tell her that they loved her to make her feel like she wasn't going to be cast aside from yet another foster family.

There were so may wonderful characters in this short book, and all of them well developed. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Rating: 4 flowers