Second Chance on Cypress Lane--Includes a Bonus Novella

October 5, 2020
Sexual tension sizzles in this heady romance, the first in a new series from Ryan (A Reunion of Rivals), set in a small North Carolina island community. Following a disastrous affair with an Italian man who turns out to be married and famous, investigative reporter Dakota Jones becomes tabloid fodder and loses her dream job in New York City. She temporarily returns home to Holly Grove Island to figure out her next career move. Though Dakota is happy to spend time with her widowed father and rekindle old friendships, she’s wary of running into Dexter Roberts, the boy who broke her heart in high school. But Dexter is eager to make amends with Dakota and the more he sees of her the more he realizes he never stopped loving her. His plans to win Dakota back hit a snag when both of them get jobs at the same resort—where employee fraternization is strictly prohibited. Dakota’s family and childhood friends provide an aura of comfort and support while the backdrop of sand and surf adds escapist appeal. The undeniable chemistry between the characters makes their inevitable reconciliation both satisfying and intense. Readers looking for a steamy small-town tale will be swept away. Agent: Pamela Harty, the Knight Agency.

November 1, 2020

After a scandal causes Dakota Jones to lose it all, she finds herself on a bus back home to Holly Grove Island, SC, with plans to lie low, reconnect with friends and family, and figure out her next steps. When she discovers her father has been keeping some health issues from her, including putting off a surgery, she stays in town to help, which means increased chances of running into her high school ex, Dexter Roberts. Dexter has only one regret and that's the mistake he made in letting Dakota go. Her return to the island seems like a second chance, but then Dakota takes a temporary job that makes Dex her boss's boss, and the no-fraternizing-with-employees rule may take away another shot at their still simmering feelings for each other. VERDICT Ryan's (Secret Heir Seduction) sweet and promising introduction to her new "Holly Grove Island" series is sure to warm readers up during the long winter. Dexter and Dakota's second chance at love is absorbing and will be a welcome addition to the ever-favorite staple of big romances in small-town settings.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati, Blue Ash

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2020
A second-chance romance kicks off Ryan's Holly Grove Island series. Dakota Jones left the South Carolina island after high school with a broken heart and aspirations of becoming an investigative reporter in New York City. Her dreams came to fruition, but now, in her mid-thirties, she returns to her hometown to temporarily stay with her dad. Dexter Roberts, Dakota's first love, has always regretted breaking up with her and never revealed his true reasons. When Dakota ends up taking a job working for the island's new resort, Dex becomes her boss. The two agree to become friends once more, but friendship could never be enough for either of them. This small-town romance starring two African Americans is bursting with heart and focuses on enduring friendship, familial bonds, and a caring community. The story meaningfully explores the messiness of love and how sometimes dishonesty and secrets are born out of a sense of love and protection. When the deserving pair finally lean into their feelings, bare their truths, and romantically reunite, it's dynamic and gratifying. Readers will close the book with a contented sigh and dream of another visit to the delightful Holly Grove Island.

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November 15, 2020
High school sweethearts reconnect in their hometown after years apart. Dakota Jones has been forced to return to her small Outer Banks community after an unceremonious firing from her TV news job in New York. She's still grieving her mother's death and just wants to ride out her professional hiatus in her childhood home while spending time with her father. To her dismay, Dexter Roberts, the high school boyfriend who dumped her once they went to college, is everywhere she goes, and his thoughtfulness is a reminder of why she loved him so deeply. But she's unwilling to risk heartbreak again, especially when she's planning to go back to her career and big-city life soon. Ryan balances presenting the couple's backstory with their interior lives through alternating point-of-view scenes and explores the impact of their parents on their ambitions and fears. The novel is well paced, and the couple's friends and acquaintances have enough depth to prevent the book from becoming too much of a paint-by-numbers entry in the small-town-romance subgenre. Dakota and Dexter's renewed dance of courtship unfolds in different venues, evoking the poignancy of teen love that might have a shot at adult fruition. There are also deft glimpses of the microaggressions Dakota faced working in television as an African American woman with natural hair. There's a fairly predictable secret that must be uncovered to reach the happy-ever-after, but this is a pleasant start to the Holly Grove Island series. A sweet, second-chance romance that doesn't rock any boats.

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