A sweet-as-pie teacher. A hometown hero. And the local B&B, complete with innkeeper’s quarters… Fresh on the heels of a broken engagement and a dead-end subbing gig, would-be English teacher Greta Houston goes home for the summer. She needs to recharge and recuperate, and the rural farm town is just the place. Friday night fish frys and dusty back roads bring her down to earth, but Hickory … bring her down to earth, but Hickory Grove is only a pit stop. Then she gets a phone call from her alma mater. There might be a local teaching position, but only if Greta can give up her taste for the big city.
Football coach Luke Hart has too much on his plate. After moving to Hickory Grove to be closer to his ailing grandmother, he spends his days teaching, coaching, and volunteering at church. Life is good, until Mamaw Hart passes away, leaving him with a daunting heirloom: The Hickory Grove Inn. Luke needs help to run the place, or else he’ll have to sell the one thing that connects him to his past.
Will the timing be right? Or will small-town history get in the way of the perfect arrangement?
Take a trip to the heart of America and fall in love with Hickory Grove’s quirky residents who work hard, enjoy the simple life, and always put love first. Each title is a standalone read.
The Schoolhouse: Book One
The Christmas House: Book Two
The Farmhouse: Book Three
The Innkeeper’s House: Book Four
The Quilting House: Book Five
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A small town drama with romantic elements. Overall a good story but not what I had in mind from the blurb. I had expected it to be a romantic relationship story. There is a building romantic relationship. It’s just part of the overall drama of the small town: not really the focus of the story.
It was a boring read. Nothing really engaging about her opening issues which lead to her return to her hometown. Instant attraction and miscommunication with stories love interest. Lots of her hemming and hawing about staying or moving. Two kisses and you are at the epilogue 1 year later. Just felt like it plodded along and there was no actual romancing between the two that end up together.
I hadn’t read/listened to any stories by this author and when given the opportunity of listening to the audio version of this book, I couldn’t wait to get my earbuds on.
This sweet, clean contemporary romance was delightful.
The small town of Hickory Grove is a place where everyone knows your name and yes, your business. But there is also a great deal of support, in the midst of various opinions.
This story centers around Greta Houston and Luke Hart.
Greta, a HS teacher , is back in this small town she left for the big city. This was the place her mother didn’t seem to be happy but it’s where her brother has made a life, and also the place where the only school that is offering her a job. Middle school might not have been her goal , but a job is a job. She meets football coach and PE teacher Luke, a man trying to take care of his family’s Bed & Breakfast, school, coaching etc. When these two meet, the attraction is evident. But will Greta realize that happiness might just be in front of her? That happiness doesn’t come from outside but from within herself?
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will be looking for my books by this author.
Welcome back to the small town of Hickory Grove. After a broken engagement Greta Houston heads back to Hickory Grove where the only family she has left, her brother Rhett, lives. She moves into the partially renovated barn of Rhett’s girlfriend, Maggie, while she decides if she wants to stay in Hickory Grove and apply for a job at the local school.
Luke Hart is the P.E. teacher at the school, he’s also the football coach, and he volunteers at the local church. As if that’s not enough to keep him busy, his beloved Mamaw Hart recently died and he and his Aunt Liesel have to decide what to do with the Hickory Grove Inn. They were already in need of a night manager, now they’ll have to decide if they’re going to keep the Inn or sell it.
It was nice to get to know Greta and Luke, although Greta gave me mild whiplash trying to decide what she wanted to do–teach in Hickory Grove or go back to Chicago. The girl needed to make up her mind and stick with it. Once she finally does that she’s all in. When she remembers her mother saying, ‘find what makes you happy and do it’ she’s able to decide what she wants to do, where she wants to live and who she wants to live it with.
I like the way this author writes her books with each chapter alternating between Luke and Greta’s viewpoint. I like knowing what’s going on each character’s head. Although I like reading about the residents of Hickory Grove, I could never live in such a small place that everyone seems to know your business. I did enjoy that everyone pitched in and helped renovate the Hickory Grove Inn. I think Luke’s Mamaw Hart would’ve been thrilled with the results.
I think we could’ve had a little more of Luke and Greta dating before the epilogue. The ending was kind of rushed–Greta decided she wanted to live in the cottage, they kissed and then epilogue. Just another chapter would’ve been good.
This is part of a series but each one is written so that it can be a standalone. Personally, I think they’re more enjoyable if you read them in order since the previous characters are mentioned and the reader gets a little update in their lives.
I received a complimentary copy via BookSprout. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own.