A Reason to Love (Snowberry Creek # 3) by Alexis Morgan

Blurb: All roads lead home in Snowberry Creek...

After a devastating tour in Afghanistan, all Spencer Lang wants is for life to return to normal. But when he rides into his hometown on his Harley, he learns that his friends and family have tried to move past their heartbreak since he was reported killed-in-action—and the woman he loved is about to marry his best friend. Now, all he can do is pick up the pieces of his life.

Years ago Melanie Wolfe left town, with no intention of ever coming back. But when her father dies, she reluctantly returns home to salvage the family business. Reuniting with Spencer, her high school crush, complicates the already thorny situation, especially when she begins losing her heart to him all over again.

As Spencer and Melanie work to restore order to her family's company, two damaged hearts face an unexpected new future that is filled with possibilities...and love.

Review: I received a copy of A Reason to Love from the author for an honest review.

I have enjoyed reading Ms. Morgan's books since picking up a copy of Dark Defender when it first came out. Like the books I have read since, A Reason to Love has all of the elements that I have come to expect in an Alexis Morgan book.

The first is great characters. Spencer Lang comes back to a hometown that believes he was killed in action. He has issues, but he learns how to deal with them - step by step. He re-learns how to be around not only the people in his hometown, but the surviving members of his unit. Melanie Wolfe is a member (and heir) of Snowberry Creek's founding family and is expected to maintain a certain standard. While she tries to keep the family business afloat, she works on ways to improve it. Neither they, nor their various friends or family friends, are perfect and that is why I like them.

Another element is the setting. I really like the small town setting of Snowberry Creek. It is, in many ways, like small towns everywhere: Everyone knows (or thinks they know) everyone else's business, it takes a lot to overcome the image you had, and the world might very well come to an end if you do something differently from the way your parents did it.

A final element I enjoy is the story itself. Sure, it has been "done before". Soldier comes home, finds girl, etc. Ms. Morgan, however, has a way of writing which keeps it fresh and keeps readers - or at least this one - coming back for more.

Is the book perfect? Of course not. For one, I would have liked to know what has happened to Spence's uncle Vince. It was mentioned in the book that Spence's cousin Austin has changed from their younger days, yet there is no encounter between the two. Maybe more will be learned in a future book. This is also my first Snowberry Creek (I am more familiar with the Paladin and Talion books) book, so there may be more that was mentioned about these two characters in the previous books.

Overall, an excellent read from an excellent author.

(Image (c)Barnes and Noble, blurb (c) Alexis Morgan)

(Review cross-posted to Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and GoodReads.)

Jessica Freely True Nature Blog Tour Stop

Author Bio:
Jessica Freely can't resist a wounded hero. As a reader and a writer, her favorite stories are of soul mates finding redemption in each other's arms. Married to the love of her life in a beautiful relationship based on mutual goofiness, Jessica also warps minds as an instructor in Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction MFA program. Her dog, Ruthie, doesn't seem to care that Jessica's an award-winning and best-selling author in multiple genres. She just wants to play tug of war with Jessica's pages.

Author Links -
Jessica Freely Online:

Website & Blog: http://jessicafreely.com

Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/jessicafreely

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/FYXLf

Facebook: http://facebook.com/jfreely

Twitter: http://twitter.com/jessicafreely

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1690113.Jessica_Freely

Book Genre: Paranormal Gay Romance

Publisher: Loose Id

Release Date: April 22

Buy Link(s):

Loose Id Buy Link:

http://www.loose-id.com/true-nature.html

Book Description:
Lake Clearwater--conservation officer and water spirit--has just been appointed guardian of Gem Pond by The Powers That Be. It's the first time in eight years he's had a real home and he's determined to protect it, even if that means hiding his attraction to his sexy new partner, Forrest Oakwood.

Forrest is a native of the Gem Pond area and the guardian of its trees. He knows the land and its people are a crucial lynchpin in the natural order. He also knows that if he comes out, his boss in the DNR, Sgt. Dennison, will find an excuse to fire him. But ignoring his true nature was a lot easier before Lake Clearwater showed up. The man's a walking, talking wet dream.

Meanwhile, local residents--human and animal alike--conspire to bring Lake and Forrest together. The land needs its guardians united and at their full power. Dennison wants to cut down the trees to make room for water slides and tennis courts. If Forrest and Lake don't embrace their passion for each other, they'll be unable to stop him and that would be a disaster, not just for Gem Pond but for the entire natural world.