SMITTEN (COLLEEN COBLE, KRISTIN BILLERBECK, DIANN HUNT & DENISE HUNTER)

My Review: 

This is really a novel in four parts – four great romance stories that are interconnected and quite ingeniously done!  Denise, Diann, Kristin, and Colleen really are very good friends in real life and it reflects in their writing.  You can tell these gals have a blast together.  Anyway, let’s get on with the review. 

Natalie Mansfield was watching her five-year-old niece, Mia, decorate the town with other children from the area.  Natalie commented to her great-aunt Rose, how fast Mia was growing.  At seventy-eight Rose will still a beautiful looking woman. 

As the two women stood chatting, Natalie noticed a group of workers across the street all standing around looking as though they’d just lost their best friend.  Natalie noticed one of those men was her old friend Murphy Clinton.  She scurried over to him to ask what had happened and he told her that “the mill is closing…this town is finished.”  You see, the mill was the main employer in their town of Smitten, Vermont. 

Sitting in Natalie’s coffee shop, her friend, Reese Mackenzie said “we can’t make them keep the mill open.”  Rumors had been circulating for months but no one believed it would ever come to fruition.  Natalie’s coffee shop was struggling enough without the mill closing down.  If she had to close down “Mountain Perks”, how would she care for Mia?  Julia Bourne tried to tell Nat that this was something she couldn’t control and her other best friend, Shelby Evans, was deeply saddened and wanted her kids to group up there. 

The four friends decided to “create” a “honeymoon haven” in Smitten to draw tourists to bring in revenue to their town.  They began writing ideas down such as: loud speakers piping in romantic songs around the town and village square; a lingerie shop that sells perfume; a fudge store; plush hotels and beds and breakfasts with tubs for two; and other such ideas.  They’re turning a logging town into a honeymoon hotspot and each friend finds a love of her own along the way.  I must add that the Mayor was not at all happy at the prospect of having his town turned into a resort town focused on romance! 

This is a fast reading page-turner from beginning to end that kept me laughing all the way through.  Great read and I’d highly recommend it for everyone.  Book Two titled: “Secretly Smitten” is to be out in December of 2012 and I can’t wait to read it!!