Author: Linda Goodnight
Publisher: Harlequin
Date of publication: July 2017
Welcome to Honey Ridge, Tennessee, where Southern
hospitality and sweet peach tea beckon, and where long-buried secrets lead to
some startling realizations…
Grayson Blake always has a purpose—and never a moment to
lose. He’s come home to Honey Ridge to convert a historic gristmill into a
restaurant, but his plans crumble like Tennessee clay when the excavation of a
skeleton unearths a Civil War mystery…and leads him back to a beautiful and
familiar stranger.
Once a ballet dancer, now co-owner of the Peach Orchard Inn,
Valery Carter harbors pain as deep as the secrets buried beneath the mill. A
bright facade can’t erase her regrets any more than a glass of bourbon can
restore what she’s lost. But spending time with Grayson offers Valery a chance
to let go of her past and imagine a happier future. And with the discovery of
hidden messages in aged sheet music, both their hearts begin to open. Bound by
attraction, and compelled to resolve an old crime that links the inn and the mill,
Grayson and Valery encounter a song of hurt, truth…and hope.
The Innkeeper's Sister is the third book in the Honey Ridge series. I have read the second one in the series and, like that one, this can easily be read as a stand alone. Valery has been holding a secret inside for years and it is slowdown eating away at her. Her nephew's disappearance years before made it worse. Grayson is a driven business owner who turns old buildings into restaurants with his brother. He used to hold a flame for Valery in high school. When a long buried body is found on his new property, secrets from the past might bring them together or tear them apart.
I'll admit, it took me a little bit to get into this book. But in the end, I enjoyed it. Valery was kind of a hard character to like at first. I think it was because her secret was kept from even the reader for so long that it didn't make much sense as to why she was using alcohol to tamp down the pain. But, her story was heartbreaking and I was rooting for her to find forgiveness within herself and help for her alcoholism. The relationship between Valery and Grayson was sweet. I was glad that it took time for them to get to their HEA, given her issues. The one thing that didn't sit well with me was the lack of confrontation from her family about her problem. They all kind of ignored it and never tried to get her help.
The story waffles between the present and the 1860s after the Civil War had ended. We get glimpses into the events that caused a body to be buried in the basement of the mill. I thought that story-line was going to go one way and ended up surprising me. This is definitely a darker and, at times, gut wrenching book. But, one I would recommend reading.
I'll admit, it took me a little bit to get into this book. But in the end, I enjoyed it. Valery was kind of a hard character to like at first. I think it was because her secret was kept from even the reader for so long that it didn't make much sense as to why she was using alcohol to tamp down the pain. But, her story was heartbreaking and I was rooting for her to find forgiveness within herself and help for her alcoholism. The relationship between Valery and Grayson was sweet. I was glad that it took time for them to get to their HEA, given her issues. The one thing that didn't sit well with me was the lack of confrontation from her family about her problem. They all kind of ignored it and never tried to get her help.
The story waffles between the present and the 1860s after the Civil War had ended. We get glimpses into the events that caused a body to be buried in the basement of the mill. I thought that story-line was going to go one way and ended up surprising me. This is definitely a darker and, at times, gut wrenching book. But, one I would recommend reading.
Purchase Links
About Linda Goodnight
NY Times and USA Bestseller, Linda Goodnight writes novels
to touch the heart as well as to entertain. Her emotional stories of hope have
won the RITA, the Carol, the Reviewer’s Choice, and numerous other industry
awards. A small town girl, Linda remains close to her roots, making her home in
rural Oklahoma. She and husband have a blended family of eight, including two
teenagers recently adopted from Ukraine. Many of her books are about family and
children and rightly so, as she draws her deeply emotional stories from her
surroundings, her great love of family, and from personal experiences as a
nurse and teacher.
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Connect with Linda
Linda Goodnight’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Tuesday, July 11th: Mama
Vicky Says – excerpt
Wednesday, July 12th: The
Sassy Bookster – excerpt
Thursday, July 13th: Books
a la Mode – excerpt
Friday, July 14th: Reading
is My SuperPower – excerpt
Monday, July 17th: Book Reviews
and More by Kathy – excerpt
Tuesday, July 18th: Black
‘n Gold Girls Book Spot – excerpt
Thursday, July 20th: Dwell
in Possibility – excerpt
Monday, July 24th: Reading
is My SuperPower
Tuesday, July 25th: Reading
Reality
Wednesday, July 26th: Written
Love Reviews
Thursday, July 27th: Satisfaction
for Insatiable Readers
Friday, July 28th: Broken
Teepee
Monday, July 31st: Rebel Mommy
Book Blog
Tuesday, August 1st: Let
Them Read Books
Wednesday, August 2nd: Buried
Under Books
Thursday, August 3rd: Just
Commonly
Friday, August 4th: Books & Bindings
Monday, August 7th: The Romance Dish
Wednesday, August 9th: A. Holland Reads
Thursday, August 10th: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
Friday, August 11th: From the TBR Pile
Monday, August 14th: Ms. Nose in a Book
Tuesday, August 15th: Becky
on Books
Wednesday, August 16th: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, August 17th: Steph the Bookworm
TBD: Books
and Spoons – excerpt
TBD: Book Mama
Blog – excerpt
TBD: A
Chick Who Reads – excerpt
