While reading FALLING IN LOVE ON SWEETWATER LANE, the third in the Mistletoe, Maine series, I was delighted to follow the adventures of a lady veterinarian. One of the career books for girls I read as a teen, showed a vet student whose father thought it was wrong to spend so much money training her, as she would just get married and stop working. Falling in love may be on the cards, but today nobody suggests that educated women are a waste of money.
A dedicated animal lover, Harlow Jones lived in a small town during her childhood, and after the death of her father, the family moved to Seattle. She’s put herself through college, and the vast cost will now be repaid by the State of Maine if she works for a year in a town in dire need of a vet. How could a lady say no? Cue a lovely multicultural romance story set in Mistletoe, not dissimilar to where Harlow grew up – but she’s not staying. She’s a city person now.
The first person Harlow meets is search and rescue team leader Nick Keegan, who arrives after her car skids out of control on wet leaves. Fortunately, no harm is done, but it could have been different, and Nick is pleased to see Harlow again when his son Miles adopts a large dog. Harlow hasn’t been lucky in love, and she thinks this handsome tall guy, with a pre-teen kid, is married or divorced, and too complicated for anything more than friendship. Nick is actually widowed, and not in the habit of dating. But he might break that habit for someone as lovely as Harlow.
All doesn’t go smoothly for the new arrival, even in a welcoming town like this one. Harlow has ongoing family stresses which make small issues feel much harder to handle. By contrast, the town has a few happy young couples who met in the previous books, and a baby has arrived. Fans of the series will catch up with old friends. Some readers will also identify with the situation facing Harlow, as parents age. Even when life gets smoother, it does not mean our troubles are over. It just means we have got better at dealing with them. Harlow has to handle her responsibilities, to family, clients, and friends. She does, of course, because that is what women do.
FALLING IN LOVE ON SWEETWATER LANE by Belle Calhoune is as sweet a romance as the title suggests, and good reading for teens to adults. Harlow and Nick would both make good role models. I’ll look out for more lively love stories from Mistletoe.
Will a big-city veterinarian give this small town—and the single dad who’s caught her heart—a chance?
Veterinarian Harlow Jones knew returning to small-town life, even temporarily, would be a disaster. She just never guessed it would start that way—with her car skidding off the road outside Mistletoe, Maine. And while her rescuer is both charming and handsome, Harlow isn’t about to get involved with a local. She’s in town for one reason only—to pay off her vet school bills—and then she’s back to her real life in Seattle.
Nick Keegan knows all about unexpected, life-altering detours. He lost his wife in the blink of an eye, and he’s spent the years since being the best single dad he can be. He’s also learned not to take anything for granted, so when sparks start to fly with Harlow, Nick is all in. He senses Harlow feels it too, but she insists romance isn’t on her agenda. He’ll have to pull out all the stops to show her that love is worth changing the best-laid plans.
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