Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Book #Review & #Giveaway: Cherry Lane ( A Cavanaugh Island Novel) by Rochelle Alers .@rochellealers .@

Book Title: Cherry Lane (Cavanaugh Island Book 5)
Author:  Rochelle Alers |WebsiteTwitterFacebook|
Publisher: Hatchette Books
Genre: Romance
Series/Standalone: Series Book 5
Format: ebook, paperback
Cost: $8.00
Pages: 400
How I got it: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | iBooks
Publication Date: May 26th, 2015
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Synopsis:
A place to call home . . . In New York City, attorney Devon Gilmore devoted all her time and energy to fast-track her career. She lost her boyfriend . . . but found herself with a surprise baby on the way. To begin a new life, Devon needs a place to settle down-a place like Cavanaugh Island, where the pace is slow, the weather is fine, and the men are even finer. From the moment David Sullivan meets Devon, he knows he can't fight the laws of attraction. Whether it's helping fix up the old cottage she just bought on Cherry Lane or working together on a pro bono legal case, he can't help feeling a little protective. But will the most eligible bachelor in town be ready for an instant family? Only if he can convince Devon to put her heart on the line one more time-for all time.
This is a sweet romance that makes me want to relocate to North Carolina, because Rochelle has made the island and the coves sound so amazing.

I really liked the romance of this story, this being book five, which can be read as a standalone, (the story would be richer if you read it as part of the series) was very well done, yet done in a way that allows you to meet and fall in love with the characters from the other books as well. I very much liked Devon and like her I kept looking at everyone wondering why they were so nice to a stranger, yet as a woman who spent most of my summers as a kid in West Virginia totally getting how having roots in the area instantly makes you family (to some people at least).   

I really enjoyed and loved that the author acknowledged the differences in their relationships, the way in which they both came to be on the island and the fact that they really had only just met, yet they were feeling like they had known each other for far longer that than.  I loved their family dynamics and how the cousins teased each other because it reminded me of my own family and made me feel like I totally understood where they were coming from when they talked to each other and to Devon.  I enjoyed the history that was shared and how it was interwoven into the story without being a heavy handed history lesson, The richness of Gullah life was shared in a way that made it all the more amazing to read and I laugh because so much of Gullah culture is the same for the Jamaicans in my family and it felt like reading about home.  

Devon and David as characters were pretty interesting, yet I felt we could have gotten more from them that would have made the story richer, but I understand that they are learning about each other and as they do we learn about them as well.  I loved that Devon wasn't a character that was too afraid to stand for herself and made a career choice and a life choice that made it easy for her to move and live how she wanted, her life was on her own terms even if her family didn't accept it completely.  The same can be said for David who when given the choices made a life that would allow him to be closer to home and still have a great career helping those who needed it most. And the quote that he choose to live by is amazing. 

I however still felt that David should have shared with Devon and let her have a choice in how things were done.  Had he done so she would have be more aware.  He made an arbitrary decision and then was surprised when it didn't pan out well, she isn't a child and didn't need to be coddled away, and in the end that came back to haunt him.  We knew who was involved due to the cut away scenes and this did add a few moments of tension and mystery for the characters, and it certainly helped to move the plot along.  I loved that actual real life examples were used and that Rochelle shaded so many with just simply sharing the facts. I laughed quite a bit reading this book, especially those scenes.

I loved that they shared so much in common and even if the romance developed quickly you could see where they messed well.  I loved that they were a great mix of modern and old world, they acknowledged their backgrounds of being mixed race without it being a huge issue in the book.  they loved food, so when they cooked together they shared so much about themselves and I enjoyed reading those as well.  Plus those scenes both made me envious and hungry, because the man can cook,. dance, and he's educated, Devon is one lucky girl.  

The romance was a slow burn and wasn't a fast buildup because they both made decisions at the beginning that allowed them the time to grow and know each other.  I am looking forward to seeing them more in the other romances and I loved Francine and can't wait to read about her wedding as well.  

Want a chance to read all about it yourself?? Enter into the giveaway down below to win a copy.


 ★★★1/2
Happy Reading and Good luck to all those who enter. Excuse me while I go look at Gullah brochures


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