New Leaf
A Mystic Creek Novel
-
-
4.0 • 6 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling author of Silver Thaw returns to Mystic Creek in a novel about a love that inspires the courage to start over…and the strength to reclaim a dream.
When Taffeta Brown was viciously betrayed by her wealthy husband, she lost everything—including custody of their daughter, Sarah. Now that Taffy has moved to Mystic Creek, Oregon, to start over, she unexpectedly meets the one man who might help her get Sarah back.
Barney Sterling, a local lawman, finds himself drawn to the lovely, guarded Taffy, but he’s stunned by her proposition—that they marry immediately to improve her chances of regaining custody of her daughter. Barney takes marriage too seriously to commit himself to a woman he hardly knows. Yet soon his sympathies fall with the desperate Taffy, and pretending to be in love becomes the easiest part of the plan. But they have no idea what they’re up against, or what they’re willing to risk to make a miracle come true in Mystic Creek.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Anderson returns to Mystic Creek with an uneven contemporary romance that's disappointingly similar in plot to the first book in the series, Silver Thaw. Mystic Creek is a warm and friendly town in the Pacific Northwest, and among its most prominent citizens is Barney Sterling, the handsome deputy sheriff. He investigates a report of inappropriate behavior and finds the usually unassuming Taffeta Brown getting rid of all her frustrations by dancing up a storm in the privacy of her room, not realizing her seductive moves are visible through the curtains and have been scandalizing the neighbors. Taffeta's new to town; she runs a health store and dreams of one day regaining custody of the daughter she lost in a bitter legal battle with her dissolute ex-husband. Desperate to rehabilitate her reputation, she takes advantage of Barney's interest in her and proposes to him. When kindhearted Barney realizes how much Taffeta needs him, he agrees to marry her. The warmhearted Sterlings specialize in assisting women in jeopardy, but Taffeta needs to put her own effort into figuring out whether she can save her child and make her marriage work. Anderson manufactures conflict rather than fleshing out her plot with fully drawn characters, but she does know how to tug the heartstrings.
