Somebody Like You by Donna Alward – Review, Guest Post & Giveaway
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Description:
A kiss to last a lifetime
Aiden Gallagher was only five years old when he appeared in a photograph on the Kissing Bridge. The town of Darling, Vermont, has used Aiden’s image on the famed bridge—local legend has it that a kiss there results in everlasting love—as part of its tourism campaign. Now, twenty years later, Aiden is asked to recreate the moment with the woman he once kissed: Laurel Stone.
Recently divorced, there’s nothing Laurel wants less than to pretend happily-ever-after with Aiden. As teenagers, their romance was no fairy tale—and Laurel has never quite forgiven Aiden for breaking her heart. But now that she is back in her hometown, and keeps bumping into police officer Aiden, Laurel can’t deny that there’s still a strong flicker between her and her old flame. Could it be that the Kissing Bridge is working its magic on Laurel and Aiden—and that all true love ever needed was a second chance?
Review:
Somebody Like You by Donna Alward is the first book in her new Darling, VT series. This was my first book by Donna Alward, and after finishing this story, it will not be my last. I really enjoyed Somebody Like You. This was a sweet pure romance, with a great couple, wonderful characters, within a nice small town atmosphere.
Laurel Stone returns home to Darling, VT after her divorce. She is starting life anew by purchasing the local gardening store, and has sworn off men. When her store is vandalized, she comes face to face with her high school crush, Aiden Gallagher, who is now a cop. Aiden broke Laurel’s heart in high school, and she has never forgotten or forgiven him. Aiden tries to apologize, saying he regrets what he did when he was 17. But Laurel coming off of her divorce is very cold and wants nothing to do with Aiden.
There is also the famous photograph promoting Darling’s Kissing Bridge of 5 year old Aiden and Laurel kissing. That picture has been there for 20 years, and now the town has approved changing the picture. They want a grown up Aiden and Laurel to do another one. Aiden is willing, but Laurel wants nothing to do with it.
Despite her misgivings, Laurel keeps running into Aiden, when he comes to her rescue a few times, and together they become involved in helping, George, a homeless man. The mystery behind the vandalism in town, and George is a nice side story.
What follows is a heartwarming story, with Laurel slowly rekindling her feelings for Aiden. After having been hurt during her divorce, Laurel had given up on her dreams, closing her heart to being hurt again. At first she was angry, bitter and cold towards Aiden, but he was such a wonderful hero. He understood where Laurel was coming from, and took his time to win her over. It was so much fun to see her begin to change and open herself up to love. But even to near the end, Laurel would pull back, but family and friends, as well as Aiden would work to help show her the way to happiness.
Donna Alward has written a beautiful romance, and the sweet emotional ending was simply wonderful. If you enjoy a pure romance, with a little bit of mystery, wonderful characters, then I suggest you read Somebody Like You.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
What Makes Small Town Romances so Special?
By Donna Alward
Family.
When I started thinking about this question—what makes small town romances so special?—I thought about the books and series that I’ve loved over the years and why. When it comes right down to it, small towns are about family. Either the family you’re born into, or the family you choose. Small towns are where people stick their noses in your business, but also where help is only a phone call away.
Small towns are vibrant and quirky and full of personality, just like most families. People look after each other. You know your neighbors. And right now we live in an age of more ways to connect and yet feeling more and more disconnected. But reading a book or a series set in a small town gives a reader a sense of connection. To place. To people. For those of us a little older, (emphasis on the “little!”) it’s a little nostalgic, perhaps reminding us of where we grew up, when times were “simpler” (though they sure didn’t seem simple at the time!). For slightly younger readers, small towns can represent the sort of place they’re longing for.
For me, it’s all about where you call home. In fact, that’s the main component of all of my stories—where my characters belong. Sometimes that’s geographical, and sometimes it’s more a matter of hearts, which is why my tagline is “Where your heart finds home.”
It’s kind of like Cheers for the romance reader. Small towns are where the characters go; where everybody knows their name. LOL
When I think about my favorite small town series, I think about places like Robyn Carr’s Virgin River, Sherryl Woods’s Chesapeake Shores. It’s the kind of place I envisioned when I wrote my first series for St. Martin’s, the Jewell Cove series set in Maine. And again with my new series, set in a cozy town called Darling in Vermont.
I’m hoping readers will open the book, step inside The Purple Pig Café, or the Ladybug Garden Center, or stroll along the Green to the Kissing Bridge, and feel like this is the sort of place they’d like to live. Set down roots. Fall in love.
I hope they start reading the pages and feel like they’re family.
By the time they were through, it was nine o’clock and time to open. Being a Saturday, business was brisk. Her dad dropped off the supplies and offered to stay to help cover the tagging, but with the heavy shopping traffic, Laurel decided to wait until things died down. For now the tarps covered the tags, and she’d focus on her customers. Otherwise her anger would get the best of her and that was bad for business. By six p.m., things had slowed considerably.
Laurel had been going flat out for ten hours, stopping for only fifteen minutes to run to The Purple Pig for a sandwich. Her stomach growled, her feet hurt, there was dirt beneath her nails and she really, really wanted a shower and a glass of wine—in that order. Laurel had just dragged out the hose to water the fruit trees when a half- ton truck drove into the lot and parked in an empty space.
The driver hopped out, and her heart slammed against her ribs as she immediately realized how she must look. Dirty jeans, mannish golf shirt that did nothing for her figure,
scrubby ponytail through a Ladybug Garden Center ball cap, and prob ably smudges of dirt on her face and arms. Not that she was trying to look nice for Aiden or anything, but it was him getting out of the truck, looking sexy as hell in faded jeans and a T- shirt that stretched across
his chest and shoulders.
She could pretend she hadn’t seen him. Resolutely she turned on the hose and started watering the apple trees.
“Hey, Laurel,” he called out, and that erased any hope of avoiding him.
She turned off the hose and faced him. “Aiden. What brings you by? Looking for a shrub or tree or something?”
Keep it businesslike, she reminded herself. The last thing she needed was for him to know that he had the ability to fluster her.
“I heard about what happened.”
Of course he had.
“Don’t even. I’m still pissed.”
“I know it’s not what you needed. Did Crystal tell you that you weren’t the only one hit?”
Crystal must be the offi cer from this morning. “She did.”
“Well, that must make you feel better.”
She stared at him. “Better? Seriously? Since I opened a month ago, I’ve had to have the driveway re- graded, I’ve had to replace shrubs that were stolen from out front, deal
with a break-in and vandalism, and now tagging. Trust me, Aiden, the only thing that would feel better is if you actually did your job and found out who was doing this.”
She turned the hose back on.
He waited. He waited a long time. Several seconds, maybe thirty. Which was really not that long at all but definitely felt that way. She was watering the third tree when he sighed. “ You’re upset.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
He met her gaze, and his eyes were soft, even though she’d basically just accused him of not doing his job. The understanding she saw there made her stomach churn. She didn’t want to lash out, but that was what she did when she was hurt. Angry.
Stopping by was kind and thoughtful. She kept trying to make him out to be a bad guy, and he kept being nice. It definitely made it difficult for her to hate him. Particularly since her biochemistry betrayed her at every turn. Even now, when she was utterly preoccupied with the day’s events, she seemed to notice everything. His hair, his eyes, the breadth of his chest, the armband tattoo that looked like some sort of Celtic braid, peeking just below the hem of his T- shirt sleeve. The shape of his lips . . .
He muttered something that was as creative a curse as she’d ever heard, and sounded suspiciously Irish. She couldn’t help but laugh, and tried to clamp her lips shut again. But not before he saw and heard, and his eyes took on an impish gleam.
“ You’re not fine. You’re tired and upset and rightfully so. You’re also just as stubborn as you always were.” He put his hands on his hips. “I take it you’re not adverse to help, just help from me in particular.”
Her face heated. Dammit.
“Maybe this could be my penance,” he suggested, giving her a quick grin. And she wished she could take him seriously, but he always seemed to be teasing. It was one of the things she’d really liked about him and hated at the same time. Particularly now, when she wanted to be, if not mad, completely unaffected. And she wasn’t. He was trying to cajole her out of her mood and it was working.
“It’s Saturday night. Don’t you have a hot date or something?” She turned on the hose again. Focused on the large plastic pot holding a cherry tree.
“Nope. Free as a bird.”
Dammit again.
“Come on, Laurel. Peace offering. Manual labor for you to stop hating me.”
She glanced over at him. “Why do you care so much?”
He was quiet for a moment, and to her surprise the teasing expression left his face. After a while he answered, his voice a little lower. “I don’t know why I care what people think so much. I always have. I don’t like anyone to be mad at me. Maybe it has something with being one of the younger siblings in the family. I don’t know. I just know that I don’t like it that you’re still so angry.” His intense blue gaze locked with hers. “It’s starting to become a personal mission to win you over. To atone for past sins.”
“Good luck,” she said dryly, more touched than she wanted to admit.
His boyish grin was back. “Come on, Laurel. You know you can’t hold out forever. You think I’m hot.” He had the audacity to wink at her.
She rolled her eyes.
“You do. You have a thing for gingers. And you have to admit, I grew up kinda good.” His hands were still on his hips and he tensed his muscles so that his shoulders and chest tightened beneath the thin T- shirt.
“I think you’re a bit taken with yourself, to be honest,” she replied. And tried not to smile. She didn’t want to be charmed, but he was incorrigible.
“Laurel.”
Damn, his voice was all silky- smooth now. “Yes, Mr. Narcissist?”
“You know damn well you want to hate me and you can’t. Besides, I saw your face just now. Maybe if I took off my shirt . . .”
“Would you like to go somewhere private to be with yourself?” she asked, biting the inside of her lip. She shouldn’t be enjoying this so much. And she wouldn’t be, if she thought he was serious. But he was teasing her.
Like he used to do when they were friends. And today . . . she swallowed against a ball of emotion. Today she needed a friend, and all she’d had were well- meaning customers.
She looked over at him. “Jeez, Aiden. You’re looking a little flushed. I think you could stand to cool off.” And before he could reply, she flicked her wrist and aimed the spray of the hose right at the center of his chest.
The abrupt shock on his face was gratifi cation enough, but then he grinned and reached to take away the hose. She danced away, still spraying him, admiring how the shirt now clung to his skin and the little droplets lit up his face and hair. A laugh bubbled up through her chest and out her mouth as she darted around the trees, dragging the hose with her. But there were too many pots and not enough room to maneuver and within seconds he caught her, wrapped one strong arm around her and wrenched the hose away with the other, spraying her in the process.
Cold water dripped from her nose, down her neck, over her bare arms. Aiden held her close against his body, close enough she could feel the hardness of his muscles, and thrilled at it. Their breaths came fast, their chests rising and falling with both laughter and the exertion of the struggle over the hose. But it was the way he was looking down at her right now that made her feel as if the lack of air was strangling her lungs. All it would take was the tiniest move and he’d be kissing her. Her gaze dropped to his lips— he’d always had fine lips— and she swallowed, nervous and scared at her reaction and turned on as hell.
She looked up, which was a mistake. Because he was staring at her lips. And his arm tightened just a little bit at the hollow of her back. Oh God . . .
A car horn honked and Laurel jumped back. He let her go, but the gravity of the moment remained.
While bestselling author Donna Alward was busy studying Austen, Eliot and Shakespeare, she was also losing herself in the breathtaking stories created by romance novelists like LaVyrle Spencer, Judith McNaught, and Nora Roberts. Several years after completing her degree she decided to write a romance of her own and it was true love! Five years and ten manuscripts later she sold her first book and launched a new career. While her heartwarming stories of love, hope, and homecoming have been translated into several languages, hit bestseller lists and won awards, her very favorite thing is when she hears from happy readers!
Donna lives on Canada’s east coast with her family which includes a husband, a couple of kids, a senior dog and two crazy cats. When she’s not writing she enjoys reading (of course!), knitting, gardening, cooking…and is a Masterpiece Theater addict.
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Donna’s publisher is graciously offering a paper copy of SOMEBODY LIKE YOU to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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