Wild Iris Ridge

April 27, 2015
Thayne's seventh Hope's Crossing contemporary (after Christmas in Snowflake Canyon) is a nice quick beach read. Lucy Drake fled the small town of Hope's Crossing years ago, opting for the busy corporate life rather than the slower pace of the tiny resort hamlet. Now, after the death of her beloved great-aunt and a devastating career setback, she's returned to regroup and figure out her next steps. Brendan Caine, the man she's quietly loved for years, married her best friend, and is now a widower with two adorable children. As Lucy and Brendan reconnect, they discover more about each other, including a simmering mutual attraction. The story features a standard, formulaic, feel-good plot that's short on imagination but makes up for it with plenty of emotional satisfaction. Quirky characters and references to connected stories will please series fans. Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhill Associates.

July 1, 2014
Thayne (Currant Creek Valley, 2013) has penned another feel-good romance set in the neighborly Colorado mountain ski town of Hope's Crossing. Lucy Drake returns after she is suddenly fired from her lofty position at a glamorous tech company. She inherited a beautiful Hope's Crossing mansion from the great-aunt who helped her through her painful adolescence, and she now plans to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast. The only real appeal the town holds for her is the children of her late cousin and best friend; it's too bad that their father, fire chief Brendan Caine, broke her heart long ago. Lucy faces a further complication when the father who had abandoned her coerces her into taking in her messed-up teenage half sister. Then Brendan's children and Lucy's sister find a pair of abandoned puppies, and antagonists Lucy and Brendan find themselves thrown together, repeatedly. The delightful residents of Hope's Crossing readers have met in the six previous books are back, and it is a joy to see how well their lives are going. Readers feel as though Thayne's characters are dear friends.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)