Lean on Me

November 4, 2019
Simmons (Taye’s Gift) charts an emotional course from horrible first impressions to budding romance in this poignant love story. Tabitha Knicely and her sisters agree to take turns caring for their elderly great-aunt Tweet, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Tabitha, a Pasadena Hill, Mo., pharmaceutical sales rep, has just started her six-month rotation of housing Aunt Tweet when Tweet wanders off and ends up on neighbor Marcus Whittington’s porch. Marcus initially accuses Tabitha of elder neglect and threatens to call 911, but as they continue to run into each other, he comes to understand the depth of Tabitha’s love for her aunt and the difficulty of caring for a woman with Alzheimer’s. Marcus develops a friendship with the Knicely women, joining them for meals and church outings, and romance simmers between Tabitha and Marcus as he becomes the person she leans on when juggling her career and her role as a caregiver becomes overwhelming. Simmons balances the sadness of Alzheimer’s with the heartwarming bonds of family and friendship, and the combination is sure to tug at readers’ heartstrings. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.

January 1, 2020

Tabitha Knicely is reeling. Caring for her elderly aunt is more than she anticipated--the symptoms of Aunt Tweet's dementia seem to be ever-changing--and that stress, combined with her new high-pressure job, has turned her life into something she barely recognizes anymore. When her aunt begins making clandestine early morning visits to a neighbor, it just might be the last straw. Marcus Whittington doesn't trust easily, and he suspects that Tabitha and her aunt are up to no good. But the more time he spends with the duo, the more his heart is engaged, and soon he can't imagine his life without them. This is a slow-burn romance; at times Tabitha and Marcus's relationship seems to progress more quickly in their heads than it does on the page, and the emphasis on themes of forgiveness and second chances often overpower the story and the romance. VERDICT Fans of Simmons's books ("Love at the Crossroads" series) will probably want to pick up this first in a new series; others may wish to pass.--Rebecca Moe, Alden Ewell Free Lib., NY

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.