An idyllic, beautifully designed and decorated lakeside house is the backdrop for The Honeymoon Cottage by Lori Foster. This heartening family saga is woven with bonds of filial loyalty, unexpected friendships and burgeoning romance.
Yardley Belanger, 31, has always called Cemetery, Ind. (population 827), home. She never knew her father; she's always lived with her aunt and her mother--who bitterly reminds Yardley, every chance she gets, that she was the result of an unplanned pregnancy.
Yardley has never had a lasting romantic relationship. Resigned to remaining single, she's become a workaholic who gives her all in serving as a wedding planner--joyfully intent on meeting every whim, wish and pleasure for couples planning their big day that is often capped by spending their honeymoon at a quaint lakeside cottage in town. In the recesses of Yardley's heart, she secretly hopes one day to have her own wedding in town, and that she and her true love will occupy the honeymoon cottage she proudly designed and decorated herself.
Travis Long, a 35-year-old carpenter, has also faced challenges in life. When he was only 20, his parents were killed in a car crash, and he assumed responsibility for his then five-year-old sister, Sheena. Ever since, he's been devoted to Sheena's upbringing, care and ensuring her well-being. With Sheena now 20 years old herself and marriage on the horizon, her big brother is intent on giving Sheena the wedding day of her dreams. When Travis solicits Yardley's services for Sheena's big day, he and Yardley are instantly attracted to each other. Can these two wounded souls build a happy ending of their own--deferring their relationship until after the wedding?
As the couple's feelings escalate, Yardley faces down her domineering, ungrateful and judgmental mother and aunt; meddling townsfolk intent on updating Cemetery (named for a local family whose last surviving relative is rigidly intent on preserving the roots of the town); a wisecracking, tell-it-like-it-is best friend and new mother who is facing marital woes; and a stray dog that wins hearts.
Foster (The Somerset Girls; The Summer of No Attachments) has crafted a warm, leisurely plotted small-town saga centered on healing relationships. The Honeymoon Cottage is a top-notch addition to Foster's prolific body of work--another ideal escape for romance readers seeking the comfort of a hopeful, life-affirming love story. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines
Shelf Talker: In this hopeful, heartening romance, a lakeside cottage in a small town revives the lives of two lost souls deserving of a happy ending.