"Winter in Sweetwater County" by Ciara Knight

Lisa Mortan’s ideal life crumbles when her rich and powerful fiancé demands she ends an unwanted pregnancy. With no job or social support, she flees to a small town in hopes of finding a good family for her unborn baby, but instead finds a man who is as broken as she is.

Eric Gaylord returns to his home town for a respite after a tragic loss, but when his spitfire mother takes on an unknown woman as a business partner, he is forced to face the nightmare he’d left behind or risk losing the one woman who could heal his heart

My review:

** spoiler alert ** Lisa is running away from an abusive situation - right into the arms of a man who refuses to love again. Both Lisa and Sam are fighting past demons and Sam's mom is right in the middle of it - that daggone matchmaker!:) I thought that Sam was a little quick to go from "I don't want anything to do with her" to "I want to kiss her right here and now". I did like, however, how their relationship developed over Skype, although the premise for why he was in Paris was a bit "clunky".

When Mark returne Lisa is running away from an abusive situation - right into the arms of a man who refuses to love again. Both Lisa and Sam are fighting past demons and Sam's mom is right in the middle of it - that daggone matchmaker!:) I thought that Sam was a little quick to go from "I don't want anything to do with her" to "I want to kiss her right here and now". I did like, however, how their relationship developed over Skype, although the premise for why he was in Paris was a bit "clunky".

When Mark returned and Lisa ended up in the hospital, I thought it was a bit farfetched that Sam was so "insistent" that this clearly abusive man was just "in shock" about his babies and he would turn around because "no man can turn his back on his child". I thought he took that a bit far. I was happy to see that while Lisa was in the hospital that he supported her, but still.

The one thing I didn't like is that Lisa and Sam kept talking over each other - they weren't LISTENING to each other. Each time one person wanted to tell the other something, the other would interrupt, assume, presume, etc. I didn't like that about their personalities. In the end, I thought it went from Sam wanting nothing to do with a baby to Sam declaring his undying love, after being gone for 2 weeks to find himself, or to get legal papers, or something (that wasn't exactly clear) to be a bit farfetched and unrealistic.

I do wish there was an epilogue to give a "glimpse" into how it wraps up. I know there is a follow-on book with mom's story where there will be more info about Sam and Lisa but there is a way to wrap up this story with an Epilogue that won't ruin the next book at all. There was too much left incomplete about the baby, etc. All in all, a feel-good read with a happy ending

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