After her estranged father is indicted for insider trading, wealthy heiress and morning talk show personality, Evelyn Barclay, returns to Paradise Key. She takes a job with a friend, only to discover she’s now in charge of Paradise Key’s sexy mayor, Paxton James.
Pax wants nothing to do with the video Evie needs to produce for the town’s new website. But he can’t deny that every time he’s around her, sparks fly. Not only is she beautiful, but when Evie steps up to help his daughter, he sees another side of her.
Just as Pax and Evie grow closer, her dad’s appearance in Paradise Key threatens to send her into hiding again and ruin their budding relationship.
Titles in the Paradise Key series include: Summer Love Take Two by Shirley Jump – Love At The Beach Shop by Kyra Jacobs – Resort to Love by Priscilla Oliveras – Small Town Love by Susan Meier
Title: Small Town Love
Series: Paradise Key #4
Author: Susan Meier
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: May 22, 2018
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Sometimes we protect ourselves so well that we fail to see truthful reality when it stands right in front of us. The habit of not trusting, not sharing, keeping emotions tight and controlled works for a very long time – right up until something or someone causes us to take another look at our life. One of the most difficult things in life is making ourselves look at a situation from another person’s view point, to hear their truth even when it counters what we believed was the only truth. Right now that is a situation that Evie is facing and if she makes the wrong step, listens to her protective side and not the side that wants to believe that she is worth loving then she stands a good chance of losing two very precious, special people forever.
Pax is mayor of Paradise Key, a widower of five years, proud father of 12 year old Samantha and is in a new stage of parenthood… the dreaded little daddy’s girl is growing up and discovering make up, boys, and girly things. Yeah, he’s in trouble now. He’s also been holding on to the memory of his wife, not ready to truly move on and content to be Sam’s dad. Until Evie came back to Paradise Key in hiding and stirred up his safe and known world.
When Evie’s dad also comes to Paradise Key to hide out from the press until his trial he throws so many painful memories into the mix of Evie and Pax. Yet it’s here, with Finn in the mix that Evie finally has to face that listening to the other side perspective, and how she handles another side of truth will decide her own happy ever after.
Small Town Love is a compelling look at love, parents, memories and truth. Evie and Pax’s romance is sweet, steamy, full of contradictions and so very real that it, at times, hurts to read what they’re going through. Samantha is a charm, her exuberance at turning into a teen is contagious. Finn is many things, but he’s also a father who did what he thought was right for his little girl, even if it turned out all wrong. I loved this story, it felt so real and lifelike, full of humor, tears, anger, sadness and… reality. I’d definitely recommend this story and the entire Paradise Key series to any Contemporary Romance reader who enjoys a good, realistic love story and characters who bring the story to life.
I sincerely hope that one day the authors of this series will come together again and take us back to Paradise Key. I confess that I’m really not done with this small Florida town and would love a return visit soon.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
Available for the Kindle
