Always Dakota: A Novel (The Dakota Series)

Debbie Macomber's books are always sweet and nice and easy to read, easy to enjoy. Lindsey moves to North Dakota on a whim and of course with a lot of hard work, she wins over the suspicious community and the handsomest bachelor in town. How they get from meeting to marriage is fraught with tension and misunderstanding...which I found to be rather contrived and could have been solved with a bit of conversation. I'm a sucker for a good love story, but the love interest is not the male/female kind that intrigues me the most, it is the falling in love with a place - new and different that what Lindsey has known that is the most interesting and finding love, friendship and acceptance in a place far out of her comfort zone and family - that was I enjoyed. The drawing of the characters by virtue of their interactions and interests are what I found most appealing. Debbie Macomber has a knack for making a reader want to explore new places just because she paints them so beautifully with her words.

Jeb McKenna is a North Dakota bison rancher who had lost a leg in a farming accident four years earlier and has been somewhat of a recluse ever since. His sister has tried a ploy to get him to meet a newcomer to town, Maddy Washburn (friend of Lindsay Snyder Sinclair, heroine from the first book) Always Dakota really doesn't focus on just Margaret and Matt. While they are suppose to be the main characters in this book equal time is given to Rachel and Heath, Sarah and Dennis, and Bob and Merrily. There are also the other towns people we have grown to love such as Maddy and Jeb, Hassie, and Joshua McKenna, just to name a few. the storyline between Margaret and Matt is extremely touching. There were tears in my eyes through much of their story. this book is about Matt and Margaret , and it is although it would be more justifiably said that it was about the people of Buffalo Valley. Matt and Margaret are a great addition to the town and their story was well written. Buffalo Bob, Merrily and Axel come back with a conclusion to the custody battle. Sarah, Dennis and Calla return with their family feud. Maddy and Jeb reflect on how good their family is turning out. Not to forget to mention Heath and Rachel, Joanie and Brandon, Hassie Knight, Joshua McKenna and plenty of others.I was somewhat sad while reading this book, knowing it was the last in the trilogy. The folks in Buffalo Valley have become friends and I hated to see them go. It amazes me each time I read a Debbie Macomber book how I get to feeling as if these people and their problems really do exist in real life. Ms. Macomber writes with such life-like attitudes in her characters. This trilogy would definitely be a great movie.

I’m a ND girl myself… so this to me was another great read. 3rd in the ND series and one to go.

For those following the Dakota series this is the third book (Always Dakota by Debbie Macomber) relating the lives and challenges of numerous individual residents of Buffalo Valley, North Dakota. This is farming and ranching community with complex characters which make this an interesting story which like all the books in this Dakota series, appeals more to women readers I suspect than men. Working the farms and ranches in this small town, and the search for love, marriage and family values is the focus of these novels. The writer has the ability to make the characters come alive with their qualities and flaws. If you are a fan of the Dakota series you will like this volume #3 of the series. Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Chair/Seated Tai Chi/Qigong/Yoga stretching for seniors and the physically challenged).