SHE'S GOT A WAY - Maggie McGinnis
Echo Lake
, Book 3
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-13: 978-1-250-06909-2
September 2016
Contemporary Romance

Echo Lake, Massachusetts - Present Day

Housemother Gabriela O'Brien walked away from her trust fund to teach at Briarwood Academy, an exclusive private school for privileged young women.  Now, when four of the girls in her charge violate Briarwood rules, including hotwiring and stealing the school van, Gabi finds herself not on her way to Barbados as planned, but instead, arriving at a remote campground in Vermont, forced to spend the entire summer chaperoning these wayward girls.  She resigns herself to her fate, expecting a little roughing it for the summer might do the girls a good turn.

Luke Magellan has suddenly become the camp handyman for the summer.  Camp Echo has been purchased by an exclusive girls school, Briarwood, and the their executive committee handed over a laundry list of things to do to get the camp in shape for whatever their plans are for the future of the facility.  Camp Echo is and has been a summer camp for troubled boys, and its Administrator, Oliver Black, once took Luke in his capable hands years ago.  Luke doesn't want to see the camp closed.  Too many boys need its healing power and guidance, but their future is uncertain now that Briarwood has taken over.

Gabi and her girls: Madison, Alexandria (Sam), Waverly, and Eve, arrive at Briarwood expecting to tuck themselves into warm beds and dry quarters at Echo Lake.  Instead, Gabi arrives to find Spartan arrangements: no plumbing, which means no showers (Luke says they have to bathe in the freezing lake!), no toilets (only one lonely outhouse!), no cabins (they have to pitch their own tent on a wooden platform!), no cell service, and, of course, no Wi-Fi!  Gabi's plan is to drive straight into town and make some calls but, unfortunately, Luke has removed the van's battery!  Luke laughs at her and simply advises Gabi to get the girls busy pitching their tent for the night, then start the next day fresh with a morning swim; oh, and watch out for the bears!

SHE'S GOT A WAY is a wonderful romp in the wilderness of Echo Lake as Gabi and her girls learn to build things and survive without the gentle things in life.  Secrets abound as the girls learn how to trust and make a life on their own, rather than having everything handed to them.  Gabi walked away from money to help young women like herself learn about the real things in life, the meaning and satisfaction of having to work for what you want while helping others.  Luke scorns her privileged life; he worked his way up from hardship and is likewise fighting to keep Camp Echo alive for all the troubled boys who need the guidance the facility offers.  He's also afraid of losing his job when the Briarwood executives finally finish with him and the requested repairs to the camp.

A passionate and caring romance, SHE'S GOT A WAY is the third novel in The Echo Lake Series , following HEART LIKE MINE (May 2016), FOREVER THIS TIME (November 2015), and the novella that kicked off the series, SNOWFLAKE WISHES (October 2013).  Each book stands alone, but this is a series full of great characters, lots of humor and angst, and twists, turns, and each contains a delicious romance.

SHE'S GOT A WAY is the best yet!

Diana Risso