LK Campbell, $0.99
Paranormal Romance, 2013
Despite the cover art, Inheriting Evergreen skews more towards women’s fiction than typical romance. Our heroine Kristy Miller’s romance with Drew Stone is not only slow in reaching burning point (I’m not sure it ever reaches that point, to be honest), it is not the main focus of the story.
Kristy inherits her late aunt’s mountain home when the story opens. Oh yes, Aunt Leslie is loaded, because she wrote a wildly successful three-book series about a love story between a woman and a ghost, which were later made into films. She learns that her career wasn’t the only thing Aunt Leslie kept to herself when she was alive. As Kristy discovers more about her aunt, she learns that the inspiration for her aunt’s books could very well be real…
Inheriting Evergreen has a very strong point: its atmosphere. Really, this story is gorgeous in just how evocative it is. The sense of discovery, fascination, and what not – this story manages to create this cozy mystery vibe that really draws me in. It’s like I’m caught up in this mini-mystery myself. Also, Kristy and Drew are somewhat older than the usual main characters in romance novels, and I like that their relationship takes its time to develop. For the most part, I don’t feel that the author is trying too hard to rush them into a clinch.
Ultimately, this story is probably too short for its own good. When I reach the end, I have this “Wait, that’s it?” feeling that I can’t shake off no matter what. The next book in the series feature a new cast of characters in the same setting, so I end up feeling that this story has ended before I am ready to say goodbye to everyone and everything. Not to mention, the whole idea of Aunt Leslie doing all that she did here with Drew and his two sons is rather outlandish to me. I like this story, but it ended before it could make a deeper impression on me. Oh well.
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