Suddenly it’s raining men in Janice Lehmann’s life.Ex-soldier Graham Peyton struggles with PTSD and manages his claustrophobia by living on the mountain above Lark Creek. But keeping a young deaf teenager safe in witness protection has renewed his desire to return to society and contribute to his community. And he’s chosen Janice to help him.Janice Lehmann has filled her life with teaching and … life with teaching and community projects. She’s the driving force behind the new pioneer museum, but when her ex-husband reappears seeking a reconciliation, she’s torn between the damaged former soldier and the man she married.
Two attractive men both seeking her attention should be the stuff of dreams, but why now, when her life has settled into comfortable routine? Can she still find a happy-ever-after, and with which man? Or will the tensions between the two men send her running for the hills?
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An interesting addition to this series,
The fourth book in the Home to Lark Creek series a well written story with a very good storyline. Ex-soldier Graham Peyton lives in lonely isolation on the mountain above Lark Creek because of his PTSD, as he can not handle enclosed spaces, even a house. He meets divorced teacher Janice Lehman. This story has suspense, drama, danger, shooting, villains, a very damaged man, and the woman who he will come to love. I want to read more in this series. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was my first visit to Lark Creek and I’ll be going back and revisiting with the first three books. I liked this romantic suspense novel, with an older couple who have plenty of baggage behind them, but who are now tentatively taking steps to starting again. I thought Susanne Bellamy did a good job of portraying the PTSD and the claustrophobia that Graham was suffering. I felt quite sad that he’d spent so much of his life along on the hill. Janice was a good character, and I enjoyed how she found her backbone against her exhusband as the story progressed, though I wish she’d d found it a bit earlier. I enjoyed Jack, the lawyer, Rick and the other secondary characters that played important roles in this story. There was plenty of tension created surrounding Janice’s ex and also the markers on the hill and I wondered how it was all going to come together. A really enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Not a Standalone
When I choose a book at my favorite book review site, I only read the description there. I do not go to Amazon to find out more about a book, as often it isn’t even yet available for pre-order. So, when I chose to review this book, I had no clue that it was the fourth book of a series as the author made no mention of this. As soon as I started the book, I felt like I was coming into the middle of a story, or at least in the middle of a world whose characters were expected to be already known to the reader in some degree, not as if they were being introduced for the first time. With this assumed reader knowledge about the community and its people, I felt a little lost for quite a while. Unfortunately, this diminished my experience of the book.
I appreciated that the novel had an older couple at its core, as I don’t see enough in romance. The author also delicately handled how the hero was dealing with his claustrophobia as an effect of his PTSD. I have read some other amazing Australian authors who are able to give an incredible sense of place; I felt like the author missed the mark on that count. If this series based in Australian interests you, this is definitely one you need to start from the beginning as I would not consider this to be a standalone book.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Graham is not your typical hero. He is a man who has fought and lost the battle to overcome the effects of claustrophobia, received as a result of being injured in the line of duty. His feelings for Janice help him to conquer his fears one by one as he realizes that he is falling in love with her. When her life is in danger, he does all he can to keep her safe. Good read