Hidden Lakes

by Melanie P. Smith

Melissa is a single mother and a widow. Her husband, a fireman, passed away while valiantly saving the life of a small family just over a year ago. Melissa is struggling financially and has now moved back into her childhood home in Hidden Lakes, Colorado. She is hoping that a move from the big city to a small town will be therapeutic for both herself and her seven year old son, Jeremy. There’s only one catch, Shane Chandler.

Shane is a cowboy through and through. He runs a large ranch on the outskirts of town. He had a rough childhood and it shows. He’s rugged, sexy and set in his ways. He loves his ranch, but he loves his daughter even more. The road to being a successful rancher and a good father was a difficult one, but he wouldn't change a thing. Well, except maybe one.

Shane and Melissa have history. The two were considered the perfect couple by the entire town of Hidden Lakes before another woman came between them. Melissa left town and Shane did his best to move on with his life. Hidden Lakes is a small, cozy town. Can the two of them coexist in such a tight community considering their history? And how will Shane react if he discovers Melissa’s secret?

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2014

About the author

Melanie P. Smith went to Dixie Collage and the University of Phoenix where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management. She also has a Postgraduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution and Negotiation from the University of Utah. She worked for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office for over 26 years, most of that time was in the Special Operations Division. She was part of the support staff for the SWAT team which required her to respond on call-outs where she manned the radio in the SWAT command post and coordinating communication and logistics. She was also on the logistics team of the Child Abduction Response Team. In addition, she worked closely with Search & Rescue, the Mounted Posse, K9 and the Motor Unit.

She has been able to utilize her knowledge of police and rescue operations as well as business practices to make her novels fun and exciting.

For years she used her creative writing skills for office related tasks such as awards programs and web content. Then one day, she decided it was time to start writing for fun again. Hopefully you will enjoy reading about this exciting new world as much as Melanie enjoyed writing about it.

Reviews

[Devi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical romantic novel. Melissa and Shane has a history together. The history starts with the start of the novel. But the chemistry takes some time to follow. Author Melanie gives a realistic slow start for the romance to come and takes it gradually along the story. Unlike the other love stories where the love starts right from the second page, this approach feels more realistic and you feel connected to the characters throughout the book

Read at Hidden Lakes

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of life’s little pleasures is picking up a book to read and discovering that you picked a good one. This time it was Hidden Lakes. A modern day Western Romance. The story line is very human, the characters easy to relate to, may even remind you of someone. The author’s writing style has an easy flow. The book is well written and provides an enjoyable read.