Swan Point by Sherryl Woods

Waaaaay back in college, my friends and I used to read a lot of romances featuring pregnant women and babies by choice. Not just because a series we liked went there. We sought them out. I know. One of the authors that we loved was Sherryl Woods. After college I moved on, and I relegated Woods to the category of authors who wrote books about babies and I never looked back. This summer a friend of mine mentioned Woods and I thought I'd take another look. Happily Swan Point has no babies at all on the cover. It does, however, have children in it.

 

Here's the summary:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods draws readers back into the world of strong friendships and heartfelt emotions in Serenity, South Carolina

Determined to build a new life for her family after her divorce, Adelia Hernandez has bought a home in the historic Swan Point neighborhood of Serenity. Promoted to manager of Main Street's most fashionable boutique, she feels revitalized and ready for a fresh start as a single mom. But barely into this new independent phase, she crosses paths with the sexiest man to hit Serenity in years.

Gabe Franklin, back in town to make amends for past mistakes, has no intention of settling down, but Adelia's proving irresistible. Cheered on by their friends, "the Sweet Magnolias," Gabe is bringing long-absent passion and laughter into Adelia's life. To his surprise—and hers—sometimes a rolling stone is just what it takes to build the rock-solid foundation of a family.




So as I said, there are children. Adelia is a single mom of 4, fairly fresh out of a publicly embarrassing divorce. Her self-esteem has taken a giant hit, and she's pretty much brand new to the world of both dating AND being anything other than a mom. She really opens up in the book and starts to accept that yes, she CAN have something that she loves as an individual, something that she's not just doing for the benefit of her children. I'm learning that when done well, I don't mind the addition of children to a book, if they are there as part of the new family and not just for comic relief.


By the same token, Gabe has a lot of growing to do. He has to overcome his past in Serenity and learn to deal with the parts of being in a small town that scared him off before. He falls for Adelia pretty much before he even talks to her, and while his words insist he can't stay, can't do it, his heart and brain is telling him otherwise. While he does insist a TAD too long that he's not right for relationships, he manages to pull it off in the end.


The romance in this one is sweet and flirty. Any action is behind closed doors other than a few stolen kisses. It's believable and I enjoyed it a lot. The biggest flaw of the book are the Sweet Magnolias (been there done that, see also Fool's Gold) and basically all the name dropping from the other books in the series. Books like this make me really appreciate Lucky Harbor, where you might meet people from other books, but it's not a challenge to squeeze them all in. Would I read another? Yes, I would. Would I recommend it glowingly like I do Lucky Harbor? Not yet.

 

 

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