Home           New Reviews  
SEASON OF WONDER - RaeAnne Thayne
HQN
ISBN-10: 1335947930
ISBN-13: 978-1335947932
September 2018
Contemporary Romance

Idaho in December – the Present

Three months ago, veterinarian Daniela Cappelli moved with her daughters Silver and Mia to New Haven, Idaho from Boston. Luckily, Doctor Frank Morales, the owner of the Haven Point Veterinary Clinic, gave her the opportunity to intern at his clinic. He wants to retire in a year, and Dani will become the owner when he does. Here she can escape her past and improve her daughters' lives—as long as the local town's residents don't learn about her past. It has taken a lot of work and sacrifice on Dani's part to get to where she is. She did tell her employer about her past, and was surprised he didn't immediately dismiss her. She trusts he won't tell anyone else. Only a few things make her doubt her move and her plans. Thirteen-year-old Silver has been sullen and irritable, partly because of her age, but mostly from trying to integrate into her new junior high school and make new friends. The move affected six-year-old Mia, too. She has suffered inordinate shyness. Another reason for Dani's misgivings is Dr. Morales's son and her next-door neighbor, Ruben, whose visits to the clinic with his two dogs, Yukon and Ollie, make her feel a long unfamiliar yearning she knows she must ignore. Ruben is  Deputy  Morales. If he found out the truth about her past, he would never want someone like her.

Ruben is attracted by his father's new intern. He has had some girlfriends, but things just never seemed to work out, and at thirty-three, he is beginning to believe he will never find the right woman. His curiosity about Dani grows as she keeps a distance not only between him and her, but between everyone in town. Then Silver does something stupid and ends up in big trouble. Yet Ruben is a caring and forgiving man from a good, strong, and kind family background, so he gives her a chance. Mia charms him and he her, but Silver is as self-contained as her mother until he inveigles her into a Christmas plan.

SEASON OF WONDER is a Christmas story, but there is so much more to it than trying to find love. Although the cautious attraction between Dani and Ruben is convincing, the story is also about how to escape the past to find a new future. It is about making mistakes and making amends, and about separation and inclusion. Moreover, it is about hiding the truth, telling the truth, and ignoring the truth, so the last name containing the word moral says a lot. A very good story for the season.

Robin Lee
 
   
index sitemap advanced
site search by freefind