Silver Mayor is #3 in the Silver Foxes Of Blue Ridge Series, and focuses on brother Charlie, the mayor of the small Georgia town. I've really liked the other books in this series as well as the series before it, but Silver Mayor was a bit of a clunker for me.
I just never felt that Charlie and Janessa connected in any real way. Their entire relationship seemed more like a friends with benefits situation. Which is totally fine -- they are both divorced, single parents, and I liked that they found comfort and companionship in one another. There are some added complications to their affair since he's the mayor, she works for the town, and her parents are his housekeeper/groundsman. I just never felt that they connected on a soulmate level, and their relationship seemed to be all about sex. For instance: She’s clearly upset about something, and not having any idea what has her in tears on the floor, he takes that as an invitation to initiate sex in his office while consoling her?
Janessa has some massive walls up -- and once her story unfolds, the reasons are explained why she's so secretive about her past. But Charlie seems to fall head over heels with her before he knows much about her. I just didn't feel it. That said, I thought that Charlie and Janessa did have a very nice connection as companions. They both understand what it's like to be married to a public figure, and that stress didn't only impact them but their 10 year old daughters as well.
This book was well-written, as are all of LB Dunbar's books that I've read. I just didn't click with Janessa and Charlie as a couple I wanted to root for, and that made all the difference in my 3-star rating versus a 4-star.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.