Oooooof, this book was rough for me. The sweetness that could come from this kind of story too often veered into saccharine and unbelievable, as though humans would not really process information or behave this way. Some moments were sweet and the chemistry between the hero and heroine is undeniable, but all the flotsam that surrounds them does not work for me.

Our heroine is Taffeta Brown, new in town and trying her best to be invisible. However, Mystic Creek is too small for that and so instead she just gets an air of mystery about her. Barney Sterling, our hero, is a town staple. A sheriff's deputy, his family has been in Mystic Creek forever. He's loyal and stable, and everyone knows what to expect from him. So no one in Mystic Creek quite knows what to do when the two of them get engaged.

It's all subterfuge, however, and part of a plot to help Taffeta regain custody of her child from her sociopath and narcissistic ex-husband. And here's where everything breaks down a little for me. I know the world is awful. I know people are liars and cheaters and are often power hungry. I get it. But everyone and everything involved in this particular plot felt more like a character than a human. No one felt fully realized. The ex-husband is a cartoon villain, his parents are duped puppets, and Taffy (I can't with that nickname either) was naive to the point of her own destruction.

The whole thing felt like I was reading a story set in 1955, but it was instead set in current 21st century America. I like my contemporaries to be contemporary, for characters to have cell phones and know about the internet and these folks really didn't.

For some readers, NEW LEAF will be a gentle, sweet romance between two folks who need each other in ways they never anticipated. It will be a lovely story about redemption and the construction of a family. If that's you, I hope you enjoy it. I think I'll leave Taffy and Barney to their happily ever after.