Sweet Laurel Falls (Hope's Crossing, 3)

I liked seeing more of Harry. I enjoyed this book but sometimes felt frustrated with the main characters. It hasn't stopped me from wanting to read the next book.

Enjoyed every minute of this book, I'm loving each of the stories about this town and its inhabitants . Looking forward to reading more in the series

I am so in love with this town and all of it's people, even a few of the rough and gruff ones. Maura has had my sympathy for quite a while now. She's never had an easy life, but losing her youngest daughter in that car accident really took it's toll on her. I found myself worrying about her long after the story ended, in fact. All of RaeAnne's characters seem so real to me, and so it's not surprising that I have come to care what happens to all of them, but especially Maura & Sage. Harry Lange has always acted like this big stuffy, cranky man, but I had no trouble seeing through that facade of his to see a lonely, wounded soul. I am so happy that Maura finally found her HEA, and with a man she has loved from afar for the last twenty years, no less. I have to confess; I had thought long and hard about who the 'Secret Angel' might be and it all came down to one person in particular for me, and I was right. I just hope that those few people in town that know who it is now, continues to keep the secret. Because IMO- it would be such a shame for it to all come to a screeching halt now.

First let me start off by saying you need to read the other two stories in this series first (Blackberry Summer & Woodrose Mountain). You could read this book by itself but there's a lot of references to things in the other books that would help with this story. That being said, this story is about love lost & second chances. The lead character Maura is divorced single mom of Sage & has recently loss her younger daughter Layla(this event is told in the other books). The holidays have arrived & she's about at her rope's end with everyone watching her & they sympathy she gets & then the final straw comes to town in the form of Jackson her high school sweetheart & Sage's father which neither Sage nor Jackson knew about until they met at a college lecture. As you can imagine neither Sage or Jackson are happy with Maura & thus the story begins. There is also the relationship between Jackson & his father Harry the town artiscrat who bully's everyone to get his way because he has money. All angles of the story are well told & keeps your interest. If you have read the other 2 books you finally find out who is "The Angel of Hope". All in all a very good story & easy read. I am looking forward to reading more by RaeAnne Thayne. These 3 books have been my first books I have read by her & have enjoyed each one. REcommend book & author.

Stories from Hope's Crossing, Colorado continue with Maura, who lost her youngest daughter to a car crash just a short time ago. Now her 19 year old daughter has returned for vacation from college, with Jackson Lange, Maura's first love. Jackson has just found out that he is Sage's father, but Maura had never told him about her. Sage has her own secret as Maura and Jackson try to reconcile their problem pasts. Life is also complicated by Sage's new found grandfather, Harry Lange, the most hated man in Hope's Crossing. I really enjoy these light romances that always have lots of serious situations and thoughts within the stories. One thought that stuck out in this book for me was: "It was a philosophical point he would have to ask Reverend Wilson next time he saw him on the golf course. Hypothetically, of course. If people helped others because they craved that feeling of satisfaction and delight, was it really selfless? How could an act be considered altruistic if, in a roundabout fashion, somebody was just fulfilling a need inside themselves by helping someone else?" This story also deals with grief, forgiveness and reconciliation. I've come to feel that the characters are good friends and neighbors. Looking forward to reading about more of the citizens of Hope's Crossing in the next book!