Lissa Manley

Hero Grant Roderick is dog-sitting for his aunt in Moonlight Cove, Washington. One day his aunt’s dog (poodle Jade) runs off and ends up at Bow Wow Boutique. Grant meets the friendly and attractive owner (heroine Molly Kent) who he finds warm and helpful. It seems like everyone in town stops by just to say hello to Molly. But Grant is a computer nerd and is only interested in his job, not a relationship (since one he had years ago went sour.) But will lovely Molly change his mind?

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main couple, I thought they had a lot in common. Neither were interested in a relationship. Molly was hurt a few times in the past and is content to be the town matchmaker. But some of her friends try some matchmaking between Grant and Molly themselves. I liked a lot of the townspeople of Moonlight Cove, especially Molly’s good friend Phoebe, and elderly Neil and his dog Coco. Some of my favorite parts are when Grant and Molly visited the sick children in the hospital, especially little Katie who loved Jade. And I enjoyed the part when Grant and Molly helped out old Neil with the dog-door to his house and spent time with him watching football on tv. I also liked how the book took place around Christmas.

Enjoyable festive read by Lissa Manley with some nice secondary characters.… (mehr)

This book came to me via two friends, one of whom passed it on to the other and the second passed it on to me.

My main complaint about this line of books is the repetitive nature of the plots, which is found in both of the stories here. Goodnight's story is basically the female character doesn't want to talk to the male character because he hurt her in the past. Manley's story is two people who have been hurt by love in the past not wanting to love again because of the hurt it could bring. Both themes have been used ad nauseum in this genre so if one wants to wow me, the story has to be something special. These really aren't, though I did enjoy the interaction of the girls in Manley's story.

My other complaint is that if you pay attention in Goodnight's book, the result of Manley's book is already known. In fact, for quite a while, I was griping that the publisher should have put Manley's book first in the collection to avoid telegraphing that--but then, in Manley's book, there's at least one line that indicates the main characters from Goodnight's book are seeing each other. So, which story occurred chronologically first? Taken together, both stories have inconsistencies that say they can't even be taking place at approximately the same time.… (mehr)

I'm giving it 4 stars because I think it has some good points about grief and because I like that the characters talk to each other honestly and at times bluntly. I kind of feel like the teen in angst is a bit overused in the romance genre. I was glad to see Heidi wasn't a bad kid just one who was trying to deal with the death of her brother, her mother leaving, and the emotional closed-offishness of her father.

Another reviewer commented on the conversation Phoebe and Carson have that results in the "don't we deserve some happiness" comment. On one hand, they both seem to be coming out of a dark place of grief and blame, and yes, sometimes we do have to be reminded that it is okay to do things that make you happy--but on the other hand, life is not all about doing what makes you happy. Choosing happiness can result in bad choices and it shouldn't be the only reason we do something. For this novel, I think the former was what was intended but I do wish the author had chosen different words to convey the meaning.… (mehr)

I think most women who read this will find the characters relatable and get drawn into the story of single-parent-of-twins Sam and bookstore owner Allison. I did think Allison took liberties with the twins from the start--suggesting activities that maybe weren't her place to suggest and that might have ruffled the feathers of a parent who hadn't known her as a family friend while growing up.

I fell in love with the small town of Bygones. It sounds like a great place to live (and hopefully to do business). I admired their SOS plan to revive main street--something I wish some communities around my area would do. I too wondered who the mysterious benefactor is--I haven't read others in the series so I don't know if the readers of earlier books in the series know (I'm guessing not or it might have been revealed to us in this book--but then again, if it was revealed in an earlier book of the series, there might be clues that those in the know would pick up on but might not be so evident to those not in the know until later. I do wonder if it is Allison's parents--seems unlikely, but possible.

The Happy Endings bookstore sounds inviting, and I wish I could stop in there.… (mehr)