Ballantine Books

Release Date: January 29,2013

Purchase: Amazon Barnes And Noble

4 of 5 Stars

As the only child of a wealthy investment manager, Ellie Chapman has never known anything besides a life of perfect privilege. But her years of good fortune come to an abrupt end when her father is exposed for swindling billions of dollars from innocent investors in a massive Ponzi scheme. And just like that, Ellie loses everything: money, job, home—even her fiancé, who’s jailed as her father’s partner in crime. With no job prospects on the horizon, no cash, and her family name in tatters, Ellie has only one place to go.
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Sleepy St. Dennis, Maryland, is hardly where Ellie intends to stay, however. Keeping her identity a secret, she plans to sell the house her late mother left her in the small town and use the proceeds to move on with her life. Unfortunately, her ticket to a new beginning is in dire need of a laundry list of pricey improvements, many of which she’ll have to do herself. And until the house on Bay View Road is fit to be sold, the sole place Ellie will be traveling is the hardware store. But as the many charms of St. Dennis–not to mention Cameron O’Connor, the handsome local contractor who has secrets of his own–begin to work their magic, what begins as a lesson in do-it-yourself renovations might just end up as Ellie’s very own rejuvenation..

My Thoughts:
As a long time fan of Mariah Stewart, I was super excited to get to read the latest, greatest Chesapeake Diaries story. Sadly, upon reading it, I thought I would be disappointed. Why? Because I couldn’t progress pass the first half of the book. It seemed to drag on and on in this book. Like there was too much going on. But, in true Mariah Stewart fashion, she prevails with another awesomely written story that brought me to the center of St. Dennis and all the characters that have become family to me, making this one awesome read!

Ellie’s back in St. Dennis to fix up and sell the house her mother left her. I really felt a connection to her. Her father and her fiance are both in prison and she’s got nothing left because of it. She just wants to start over and get her life back on track. I loved following Ellie as she worked on that and the things she discovered in St. Dennis.

Cameron O’Connor…..oh la la! Loved his character! Can I have one of him delivered to me for Valentine’s Day, Ms. Stewart? His character is wonderfully chiseled and made me smile! I loved his character and the role he played in helping Ellie get back on track.

If you love a wonderfully written romance, and a sleepy little town in Maryland…..grab up the newest addition to the Diaries. Ms. Stewart will hook you and take you for a 4 star whirlwind ride of romance, second chances and characters that become your closest friends. While this book is part of the series, and I always recommend that a book be read in order, you could read this easily as a stand-a-lone.
-Reviewed by Molly for TLC Book Tours

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