Opposites attract, but can their love last? Knocked around by life—and then knocked up by a man she won’t speak of—Sam Kendall gives her baby for adoption. Envisioning herself a lone cowboy, she avoids any relationships that might risk her heart or cause pain. There’s wonderful fun to be had if you don’t fall prey to the ludicrous notion of true love! Lately, however, Sam is niggled by doubts. … however, Sam is niggled by doubts. She’s not as content as she was. Plus, her daughter Aisha has tracked her down—seventeen-years-old and pregnant. Despite misgivings, Sam checks into River’s Sigh Bed and Breakfast to meet her.
Then widower Charles Bailey, Aisha’s adoptive father, shows up, and Sam can’t control her outrage. What was her sacrifice for? She could’ve raised the kid to follow her stupid footsteps all on her own. And topping it off? Charlie’s a neurotic, stodgy jerk—even if he is ridiculously hot and a romance author, of all things!
The longer Sam stays at River’s Sigh, exploring the wild outdoors—and her own inner desires—the more her terror grows. Maybe Charlie isn’t so terrible after all. Maybe his approach to life is actually refreshing. Maybe all this family stuff is something she could get hooked on.
Yet they’re opposites in every way, and worse: he’s her biological child’s adoptive dad. A romance between them would be too weird, wouldn’t it? Every part of Sam screams, play it safe, run.
But what if, in spurning Charlie and Aisha, she’s turning her back on everything she never knew she wanted?
Fans of heartwarming small-town contemporary romance, sister stories, second chances, enemies to lovers, and furry dog friends will fall in love with River’s Sigh B & B and never want to leave!
“Book” your getaway with USA Today bestselling author Ev Bishop’s other books today:
RIVER’S SIGH B & B SERIES
- Wedding Bands
Hooked
Spoons
Hook, Line & Sinker
Silver Bells
Reeling
One to Keep
The Catch
STANDALONES
- Bigger Things
A Sharla Brown Christmas
WRITING AS TONI SHERIDAN
- The Present
Drummer Boy
more
I thoroughly enjoyed this story – just read it for the second time as I’ve actually read through the whole series before and loved it. Perfect small town romance with complex and well developed characters and family dynamics that reflect reality in today’s world where “normal” is the opposite of that!
I absolutely loved this story. It was filled with conflict and misunderstandings, anger and a search for something the characters didn’t know they wanted.
Samantha has not been a nice person or very supportive of her sister Jo. She avoids relationships because she doesn’t want to be hurt. And the last thing she wants is to live a small town life. But when Aisha shows up looking for her biological mother, Sam, she has to decide what she has to give to this daughter she gave up for adoption. As if that isn’t enough, Aisha is pregnant and is staying at the River’s Side B & B on the off chance her mother might show up and at the invitation of Sam’s sister, Jo. Sam doesn’t want to be involved in her daughter’s life, and when Charles, Aisha’s adoptive father, enters the picture, sparks fly in more ways than one. Each thinks the other is a threat to their relationship with Aisha, and the harder they push against each other, the more they find an attraction brewing.
This was actually the first of the River’s Sigh B & B stories I read, but I truly don’t think it matters if they’re read out of order. The love story in contrast with the quarreling and the need to face maturity were heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It drew me in and made me wish I could be a part of it. I loved it and went on to buy the first book.
Another wonderful trip to River’s Sigh B&B.
This is book 2 in the River’s Sigh B&B series but it can be read as a stand-alone; there is no cliffhanger and there is an HEA. For maximum enjoyment, though, you might want to read Wedding Bands first as it will give you some background on the secondary characters in this story. I loved Wedding Bands and couldn’t wait to read this story but I had to wait because writers just can’t write as fast as I can read. LOL I wasn’t disappointed and this story was worth the wait.
As the book opens, Samantha (Sam) is struggling to come to terms with meeting the daughter given up for adoption 17 years ago so that she could have a better life than Sam was in a position to provide. Now Aisha is in the same boat that Sam was, pregnant with the baby’s father nowhere around. And Aisha has questions that she wants Sam to answer.
Charles (Charlie) is Aisha’s adoptive father; his wife, Maureen (Mo), died a few years ago. He’s a writer who has lost his muse and hasn’t written anything new since his wife died. He’s been given one final extension on his publishing contract; he must finish a new book within 6 months.
More of Sam and Charlie’s backstory unfolds throughout the book. Their first meeting isn’t really a good one. This is definitely not a case of love at first sight. Both Sam and Charlie have demons that haunt them. Charlie is afraid that Sam is trying to take his only remaining family from him. Sam just doesn’t want to get involved with anyone; the daughter she gave birth to or a man.
Ev Bishop weaves a moving and complex story. Her writing is wonderfully descriptive; you can see and feel what the characters see and feel. The path to Sam and Charlie’s HEA is a rocky one and the relationship that both of them have with Aisha encounters rough water.
Once again, Ev has written a book that contains a minimal amount of strong language. In real life there is cursing; a book completely free of it would be a bit unrealistic to me. She also manages to tell a wonderful love story without any graphic love scenes. I don’t mention these things because I object to them in books, but because I know some readers do. I love alpha males, billionaire stories, military heroes and erotic romance. Still, it’s a nice change to read a book that doesn’t need any of that to tell a great story. Ev’s characters seem like REAL people to me and I loved getting lost in in her writing.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I’ll try to wait patiently for the next River’s Sigh story.
5 stars
I received a free copy of Hooked: River’s Sigh: Book 2 by Ev Bishop and this review was given freely.
Irony, sarcastic dry humor, a stray dog, denying attraction, teen pregnancy,the love of two sisters, a serious accident,a romance author and, some mildly steamy scenes can be found in this sweet full length River Sigh sequel. This is another well written and drama packed novel which is filled with conflicting emotions but ends happily.
Wonderful story so very well told. Fun to read and great characters just like my last Eve Bishop book.