A
disastrous break-up headlining the scandal sheets sends Lindsey Brooks
heading for cover in the most unlikely of places for a chic woman about town
such as herself – the small town of Moose Falls nestled in Montana. All she
is looking for is a little peace and quiet far away from the hustle and
bustle of Chicago and its busy paparazzi and the chance to reconnect with
her late aunt through her home town. She certainly never expected this
sedate little town and its denizens to launch a soul searching journey of
self that leads her to some rather surprising revelations about her life in
Chicago and her future.
Of course, the hunky recluse Rob Colter has more than a little to do with
that… Antisocial doesn’t even begin to describe the man who now owns her
aunt’s home and canoe rental business. But a man’s secrets sometimes demand
he keep to himself, and Rob’s secrets have the power to destroy the home he
has found in Moose Falls.
But as Rob and Lindsey spend more and more time together, neither can deny
the intense attraction that threatens to develop into something much more
lasting than a mere fling. And it is just that kind of attachment that can
endanger everything that Rob has.
What can I say? With each new release, Toni Blake’s writing talent
impresses me more and more.
Letters to a Secret Lover is the latest release from her, and
it can only build both her reputation and her fan base. With a story as
inspiring as it is sexy, she has crafted a romance that will have you
dabbing your eyes with a tissue one moment, and squirming in your seat the
next!
Both Lindsey and Rob go through intense personal journeys in this book, both
separately and together. The lessons they learn from each other and from
their friends are some that will undoubtedly reach many a reader with their
absolute truth.
Lindsey’s growth is more blatant, as she matures from a frivolous
girl-about-town sporting Manolo Blahnik shoes on her feet, to a woman who
soon emulates her aunt’s place as the heart and soul of the close-knit
community of Moose Falls, complete with the much more practical Keds tennis
shoes. Of course, Lindsey doesn’t give up her Manolo’s completely, just as
she doesn’t lose the vivaciousness and sparkle that are an inherent part of
her personality. But the sparkle is tempered with a depth that perhaps was
always there, but buried beneath the gilt and glitter of a life in the
public eye.
Rob’s transformation is slower, and is fairly well contained to his
relationship with Lindsey throughout most of the book. The man that
appeared gruff and uncaring at the beginning of the book is soon revealed as
a man who is deeply afraid of losing the one place that has ever felt like a
home to him, and so keeps to himself for fear of his sordid past will be
exposed and he will lose everything.
The interspersion throughout the story of mysterious letters penned by Rob
pouring his heart out to a mysterious woman do much to show this man’s
ability to love, even before he is able to finally open up to Lindsey. Of
course, the fact that Lindsey accidentally finds these letters soon after
she realizes she loves him do just as much to create romantic uncertainty on
her part, being unsure whether the man she loves still loves another.
In the end, LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER culminates in a
disastrous showdown with Rob’s past, in the most unlikely of ways. For Rob,
the absolute worst that could happen, does. But our hero still has much to
learn before the end of the book – including a woman’s capacity for love and
a town’s capacity for compassion.
Reviewed by Jennifer
