Finding Our Forever

March 13, 2017
When art teacher Cora Kelly accepts a job at New Horizons Boys Ranch (a boarding school for troubled boys) in Silver Springs, Calif., her secret goal is to find the ranch’s owner—who happens to be her birth mother, Aiyana Turner—and any other relatives who might be there. She doesn’t expect one of those possible relatives to be a hot “brother” she’s intensely attracted to. Former New Horizons student Elijah Turner was adopted by Aiyana when he was a teen and is now a ranch employee. Having failed at many relationships because of his “inability to make feel loved and ‘validated,’ ” Elijah isn’t looking for anything permanent; and since Cora is keeping her identity a secret (and he’s her boss), she isn’t either. But they embark on some no-strings-attached steamy encounters that are eventually followed up by more emotionally intimate pillow talk. Elijah is drawn to Cora’s relaxed demeanor and her willingness to accept what he offers without pushing for more, giving him a chance to open up about his past at his own pace. There’s nothing predictable about this sweet love story, and Novak’s believable yet easy resolutions make it a delightful, touching introduction to the Silver Springs series.

April 15, 2017

Cora Kelly adores her adoptive parents, but for the past six years she has been secretly searching for her birth mother and now has finally located her--Aiyana Turner, the owner of the New Horizons Boys Ranch, a private boarding school for troubled teens. Keeping the relationship a secret, Cora accepts a job as the school's new art teacher, but when she falls for Elijah Turner, the ranch manager and eldest of Aiyana's eight adopted sons, she realizes she's going to have to tell him--and Aiyana--the truth. Child abuse and long-kept secrets are at the core of this intense, heartfelt story that makes real the fictional Silver Springs. VERDICT This brief romance nicely kicks off Novak's "Silver Springs" series. (No One but You and Until You Loved Me will be published by Mira: Harlequin in June and August, respectively.) Novak (The Secrets She Kept) lives in the Sacramento, CA, area.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.