When she realizes she's to blame for her nineteen-year-old daughter's disappearance, Keegan Monroe leaves behind a successful career in L.A. for a quieter life on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. Raised in the foster care system, Keegan had been determined that her children would live a different life. And so, while she fully met their physical needs, the best schools and a luxurious lifestyle, she hadn't been a daily presence in their lives the way she now knows she should have been. She doesn't intend to waste her son's last year of high school in the same way and determines that things will be different between them in spite of his obvious resentment of the move to Virginia.
Bowie Dare, an ex-FBI agent turned thriller writer, loves the life he’s made for himself and his dog Carson on Smith Mountain Lake. Years of seeing the evil underbelly of society led him to a point where he had to choose a different existence. He'd lost his wife in the process — she liked the old Bowie — the one who had been able to compartmentalize the bad stuff he saw and go on with life per normal.
When Keegan stops at Bowie's house to ask directions the night she arrives at the lake, they're both at a point of questioning their earlier choices and whether those choices had been worth the price. But in this chance encounter, they begin to realize that the puzzle pieces of life don't always make sense until we're a little further down the road. And you just never know when the real thing might come along.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Dragonfly Summer is so many things. It is hope. It is love. It is second chances, and starting over, and it is coming home. I was so excited when I saw that Dragonfly Summer, book 2 in the Smith Mountain Lake series, was coming out and author Inglath Cooper doesn't disappoint. I loved the sights and sounds of Smith Mountain Lake woven into Dragonfly Summer. I wouldn't say that Dragonfly Summer is a love story - its a LIFE story with everything that makes life a wonderful, messy, complicated, wonderful experience.
I really identified with Keegan. She is at the same point in her life that I am - children growing up and maturing and she is at a turning point in her life. I envy the courage she demonstrates to uproot her family to give them a better life. She is a former Hollywood actress, and from time to time, she is recognized for that, but she is incredibly down to earth. She is introspective and uses this new start to analyze her relationships with her children and what she can to create better relationships and resultingly better futures for her kids.
Bodie is also an introspective character. He is a loner that has also left his fast-paced life for the peace and solitude of Smith Mountain Lake. His career as an FBI agent has left him with haunted memories and he is tucking those memories away in the books he is now writing.
The author includes dramatic aspects of Bodie and Keegan's lives in the book, but this makes this book a realistic look at life - life is messy, and wonderful, and scary, and wonderful and Keegan and Bodie both experience the highs and lows of life in Dragonfly Summer and come out the other end happy with each other.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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About the Author:
You might like one of my books if:
- you like a good love story that makes you laugh and makes you cry.
- you like the main characters in your reading to be someone you wouldn’t mind being and someone you wouldn’t mind marrying.
- you like animals in your stories: dogs, cats, horses, cows.
- you like books for kindle, iPad and other ereaders.
- you like books by Nicholas Sparks, Nora Roberts, Kristin Hannah or Barbara Samuel.
- you like to keep the rating at PG-13
I fell in love with reading as a little girl, devouring most of the books in my elementary school library. At some point, I decided I wanted to pursue a writing career, creating romance fiction that might provide the hours of entertainment and escape my favorite books have provided for me. I love character-driven books that leave me feeling as if I’ve really known these people and make me wish I didn’t have to turn the last page.
Romance fiction has always appealed to me because it deals with so many of the relationships in a woman’s life. Not only the love of her life, but often her relationship with her mother, sister or best friend. Romance authors have so much room to explore many of the meaningful moments and transitions in women’s lives. And who doesn’t love a good love story?
I most often write stories about love and life that are set in small Virginia towns like the one where I grew up. I like to think the flavor of my hometown shows up in my books both in their setting and through the characters who people it.
I was fortunate to have been chosen as a RITA® Award winner for best long contemporary romance novel given out by Romance Writers of America. My books are available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, itunes.com, and Kobobooks.com.
Outside of writing, I’m actively involved in dog rescue, working with The Franklin County Humane Society to place dogs and cats in need of rehoming. Helping an abused or neglected dog go on to have a wonderful life with a family who loves them is more rewarding than I can possibly say!
I wish you many hours of happy reading! If you haven’t already done so, please join my mailing list and you’ll receive a FREE copy of my book Good Guys Love Dogs!
Website: http://www.inglathcooper.com/
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