Baby, it's cold outside, but things are heating up as Susan May Warren returns to the fictional town of Deep Haven, Minn., the frosty setting of several of her previous novels.
Since the murder of their daughter, ex-sheriff Eli Hueston can't connect with his wife, Noelle. When he's not busy fishing, Eli is making time with Noelle's gorgeous redheaded friend, Lee. Things get even messier when a random act of violence leaves Noelle with no memory of her husband. While the search for the criminal responsible for Noelle's amnesia goes on, Lee's daughter and Eli's son develop a romance of their own, keeping the novel's action at a jitterbug pace rather than a slow waltz. Warren keeps readers guessing as to which woman Eli will end up with, and her characters are all so darn sympathetic that you can't help but hope they'll all embrace polygamy so everybody wins.
The Shadow of Your Smile is an inspirational romance, though, so while it may feature rugged male characters chopping wood for their women, saving them from dangerous situations or whisking them away on snowmobiles, there are no graphic sex scenes, and each character turns to their intimate relationship with God as individual conflicts come to a head. Warren makes room for the Lord without being cheesy or preachy, proving that kick-butt characters in skinny jeans can be believers--and still be cool. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend