And Then There Was You

Slow Burn Hallmarkie Southern Romance. This is another of those books that almost seems destined for the small screen on the Hallmark Channel or one of its newer competitors. But here, the romance is *very* slow burn, taking nearly all of this books 350 or so pages to finally get the couple together - and even then, they barely kiss, much less anything else. So this is definetly more for the "sweet" and/ or "clean" crowd than the crowd that wants damn near erotica level sex in the first chapter. (You know what I mean, and you know who you are.) Cursing is next to non-existent here, and may even be completely non-existent - I certainly don't remember any. Prayers, church attendance, mentions of God and Jesus... those are far more plentiful - and just as accurate to the Southern small mountain town setting as the broken families, abuse, and alcoholism that are also discussed, but which take place long before this book and are only discussed - not shown "on screen".

Indeed, the bulk of the tale is a woman being conned... and then trying to re-establish her life after very nearly everything other than her breath is taken from her. Here, the book truly shines as the reader feels quite viscerally everything our lead is going through, as well as just how much the investigator assigned to her case wants to solve it for her. Naigle uses this structure to first get our lead to the point of being willing to move - and then to show the small town that will serve as the basis for the rest of this series (more on that momentarily) as an outsider would see it, for all its wonders and faults.

Really the only thing quite obviously missing here is an obvious second book, as this is listed as "number one" in a new series. As the series name is the same as the town name, clearly the town itself will be central to this series, and thus its establishment here is quite solid indeed. There's just no real obvious "oh, this is who we're tracking in the next book" set up. Or maybe I just missed it?

Overall a solid tale of its type, one that some will absolutely adore and others will find... the nearest window to throw it out of. Still, for what it is, truly a good tale, well told. Very much recommended.

I just finished And Then There Was You by Nancy Naigle - Chestnut Ridge #1 and here are my musings.

Coming home from a vacation to find her home has been emptied of all her belongings and her fiance missing, Natalie cannot understand what has happened. When detective Randy Fellows explains that she fell prey to a con-artist, she cannot believe that this has happened to her.

She decides to go to the cabin of her late husband that she hasn't visited in years. The people welcome her with open arms, they should, her husband was part of the community and slowly she starts to put her life back together while keeping in touch with detective Fellows in hopes that he manages to find her missing items and the money.

The more they talk, the more they get to know each other, the more they find themselves drawn to each other. Can she open her heart to someone again after everything she's been through?

This was a brilliant start to a really heartwarming series. I immediately fell in love with the writing and descriptive landscapes, it painted a beautifully breathtaking picture and I thirsted for more. I really enjoyed the gentle build up between Randy and Natalie. Sometimes a slower more delicate pace is needed and there were so many other things going on that their relationship was more of a secondary plot and it worked so well.

The book was told mostly from Natalies POV but some was also told from Randy's. There is actually one big twist at the end that was so great but I don't do spoilers so you are going to have to read it for yourself. It was definitely my kind of cozy mystery romance read! I'm excited to see what book 2 is going to be about!

4 stars. I will definitely be continuing this series. Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy!

Out on the 27th June 2023