St. Martin's Press
Featuring: Jess Collins; Rick Sullivan
337 pages ISBN: 1250045177 EAN: 9781250045171 Kindle: B00IQOJC38 Mass Market Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
This instalment in the Jewell Cove series opens
during
summer, when tourists and locals alike throng the seaside
town. In TREASURE ON LILAC LANE Jess Collins runs a shop
selling handmade items, and her good friend Abby is
shortly
going to marry Jess's cousin. For the day, Jess, as
bridesmaid will have to spend time with a best man, Rick,
who has been unreliable since returning from time in the
Marines and who anyway has a best-not-remembered past with
Jess when they were kids. She's not looking forward to
this, but she'll cope.
Rick Sullivan returned from war with only one hand and
working on a chartered whale-watching boat hasn't been
easy. He's also lost his mother recently and life just
seems unfair. He's teaching himself painting as a coping
mechanism. Clearing out his mother's clothes, he accepts
help from Jess who suggests donating them to a women's
shelter. She doesn't mention that when a past relationship
went wrong, she had to spend time in the shelter herself.
That ex can't go far enough away to suit her. She's learnt
that men can't always be trusted, and on the trip to the
shelter the friendly talk is interspersed with childish
sniping. Why does Rick always get on the wrong side of
her?
The handcraft store is really well realised, and the two
main characters each come across as well-rounded
individuals, occasionally repeating teen patterns of
behaviour but knowing they should be more mature. I liked
Jess despite her impatience with the unstable man, because
she clearly has a good heart, is loyal to her friends and
works hard to run her small business. I was quite amused
by
Rick's belief that being an artist is unmanly, and he
needs
to keep it secret from testosterone-fuelled locals
although
his works, including Christmas baubles, are good enough to
sell.
Both Jess and Rick have suffered losses and been knocked
back in confidence, so we have to admire their fortitude.
The reader is kept guessing about several aspects of the
developing relationship as the characters work out their
troubles. TREASURE ON LILAC LANE is far from a simple
story
and author Donna Alward deserves credit for presenting the
reality of life for a disabled veteran. Romance readers
and
those who enjoy general women's fiction will be rewarded
with another great read from Jewell Cove.
Once upon a time, Rick Sullivan had a promising future.
One
of Jewell Cove's star athletes and reigning heartthrobs,
he
joined the Marines and had the world in the palm of his
hand...until it all came crashing down. His honorable
discharge doesn't make him the hometown hero everyone
wants
him to be, and there's little reprieve from the demons
that
haunt him at night. Still, even though it seems that all
hope is gone, fate has something else in store...
Just hearing Rick's name is enough to give Jess Collins a
headache. Years ago, they'd been close. Now she barely
knows
the man Rick has become since his return from
service...then
again, Jess isn't that same young, naïve girl anymore
either. And while there's a powerful attraction between
them--one that yields a greater passion than Jess could
have
ever imagined--both are wary about opening their hearts to
love...and loss.
But happy endings don't come easily when long-buried
secrets
insist on rising to the surface. Will their pasts tear
them
apart--or can love find a way to heal them both?
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