Surprised By Love by Julie Lessman in Review

I recently read an advanced copy of Surprised by Love, the third installment of The Heart of San Francisco Series by Julie Lessman.  I enjoyed getting more involved with the McClare family of San Francisco, California, circa 1904.

This book centers on 18-year-old Megan who is just returning after a year in Paris.  When she left home she was a chubby, four-eyed girl whose heart had been tromped on more than once by cruel classmates who saw only the outward shy Meg.  One in particular, Devin Caldwell her nemesis and chief taunter, is one who is bound to eat crow when he meets her again as a beautiful debutante.

Bram Hughes is ten years Meg's senior, a close family friend and attorney in Meg's uncle Logan's firm and Megan's closest friend and confidante.  She is hardly recognizable to him after growing into such a beauty poised with charm, confidence and sporting contact lenses, something else altogether new.

One of Meg's dreams is to become an attorney and she has accepted an internship offer at the District Attorney's office. It is during her second week on the job that Meg discovers that Devin Caldwell is the nephew of Andrew Turner, District Attorney.  He does not recognize Megs and has a bit of crow to eat once he finds the truth. Can she trust him to be who he says he is after years of tormenting her?

The book is a good study of character and forgiveness. Oh there is another romance in the story as well as the continuation of cleaning up the  Barbary Coast. It would spoil the fun if I shared it all but I hope I have teased you well enough to pick up a copy of the book  and get to know more about Megan and the McClare family. You will be glad you did!

Dare to Love Again, A Trip Back in Time for the Price of a Book!

Nob Hill, Barbary Coast, Fisherman's Wharf, Cable Cars, Ghiradelli Chocolates...need I say more? Dare to Love again captures the sights and sounds of San Francisco in the early 20th century.  You will find intrigue in Chinatown, opium, plenty of unsavory characters and romance.

Allison McClare, the heroine in our story is a feisty, independent woman with a temper to match that of Detective Nick Barone, her nemesis from page one. The two become an unlikely pair as Allison flaunts danger by her desire for a cable car ride after working late. She teaches at a girls school recently started by her mother. As luck would have it, she is forced to be under the watchful eye of Barone, who turns the tables on her plans and saves her from a terrible fate.

Enter Allison's family, a large bunch who live at the top of the hill, far from the life of the city below until Caitlin McClare opens the Hand of Hope School for girls. The story is rich in characters who have their own stories to tell giving hope there will be a third book in this series by Julie Lessman.

Barone and Allison have both been unlucky in love, each have an aversion to any ideas of ever loving again. Neither can give any thought to trusting a member of the opposite sex again. While there are serious sides to this book, the sparring between Barone and Allison kept me wondering what they would say or do to each other next!  If you like colorful surroundings and plenty of things going on to keep your interest, you will enjoy Dare to Love Again.