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Smoky Mountain #5
Second Hand Rose
Surely a girl can be forgiven a moment of fantasy dancing with a tall dark stranger? And surely nothing can come of it? Wrong. Life's chance, indulgent moments always find a way of coming back to complicate everything.
Life is sometimes hard as a widowed, single mother with three young children, a business to run, bills to meet, and debts to pay. Despite it all, Rosalyn McCreary tries to count her blessings. She cherishes her shop, Second Hand Rose, her family and friends. A practical woman by necessity, she seldom indulges in impulse and fancy-except for that crazy spring day she danced with a total stranger she'd never met. Whatever was she thinking? And to later learn her mystery stranger, Kendrick Lanier, plans to move to Wears Valley. Great. Just one more problem she doesn't need.
Kendrick soon pursues her, despite Rosalyn's efforts to crowd him out, finding ways into her life, and into the lives of her children, and creating complications Rosalyn simply doesn't want to deal with. Especially since the more she learns of the man's life and secrets, the more she realizes how ill-suited they are. With Rosalyn and Kendrick's troubled pasts, and Rosalyn's temper, you'll find it a toss-up to decide if these two stubborn, determined individuals should, or shouldn't, ever get together.
PRAISE FOR LIN STEPP'S SMOKY MOUNTAIN BOOKS
"Lin Stepp has once again spun a compelling story with homegrown flavor. Her words flow across the page like a soft spring breeze in the Smokies, leaving behind traces of wildflowers and wood smoke. If you're looking for a heartwarming tale sprinkled with romance, you can't go wrong with a Lin Stepp book. Her stories always bring to mind those long summer nights sitting on the front porch and listening to my grandmother tell stories about the family and neighbors. For me, reading her books is like going home."
- Andrea Chapman, Co-Owner of READING LARK REVIEWS
"A Smoky Mountain must read!"
- Edie Hand, bestselling author, T.V. personality, and motivational speaker
"Lin Stepp takes her readers to the beloved Smoky Mountains without leaving their chairs. Vivid, crisp, and beautiful. Her characters remained with me long after I finished the book."... Loved, loved Second Hand Rose."
- Ann Hite, Award Winning Author of Ghost On Black Mountain
"One impulsive move can so often come back to haunt us ... a riveting read of romance with plenty of humor."
- MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
"A sentimental love story with a focus on healing, faith, and family."
- All About Women Magazine Review
Life is sometimes hard as a widowed, single mother with three young children, a business to run, bills to meet, and debts to pay. Despite it all, Rosalyn McCreary tries to count her blessings. She cherishes her shop, Second Hand Rose, her family and friends. A practical woman by necessity, she seldom indulges in impulse and fancy-except for that crazy spring day she danced with a total stranger she'd never met. Whatever was she thinking? And to later learn her mystery stranger, Kendrick Lanier, plans to move to Wears Valley. Great. Just one more problem she doesn't need.
Kendrick soon pursues her, despite Rosalyn's efforts to crowd him out, finding ways into her life, and into the lives of her children, and creating complications Rosalyn simply doesn't want to deal with. Especially since the more she learns of the man's life and secrets, the more she realizes how ill-suited they are. With Rosalyn and Kendrick's troubled pasts, and Rosalyn's temper, you'll find it a toss-up to decide if these two stubborn, determined individuals should, or shouldn't, ever get together.
PRAISE FOR LIN STEPP'S SMOKY MOUNTAIN BOOKS
"Lin Stepp has once again spun a compelling story with homegrown flavor. Her words flow across the page like a soft spring breeze in the Smokies, leaving behind traces of wildflowers and wood smoke. If you're looking for a heartwarming tale sprinkled with romance, you can't go wrong with a Lin Stepp book. Her stories always bring to mind those long summer nights sitting on the front porch and listening to my grandmother tell stories about the family and neighbors. For me, reading her books is like going home."
- Andrea Chapman, Co-Owner of READING LARK REVIEWS
"A Smoky Mountain must read!"
- Edie Hand, bestselling author, T.V. personality, and motivational speaker
"Lin Stepp takes her readers to the beloved Smoky Mountains without leaving their chairs. Vivid, crisp, and beautiful. Her characters remained with me long after I finished the book."... Loved, loved Second Hand Rose."
- Ann Hite, Award Winning Author of Ghost On Black Mountain
"One impulsive move can so often come back to haunt us ... a riveting read of romance with plenty of humor."
- MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
"A sentimental love story with a focus on healing, faith, and family."
- All About Women Magazine Review
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 15, 2021
8 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 21, 2013
I liked this books, just as I expected to! From the first pages, we know who the lovers will be and how it will come out. Hey, it is a romance! But a good story is more complicated and more like life. Lin Stepp shows us how the fruits of the spirit work and also mirrors (to me) familiar expressions.
Tough times — loss of loved ones, financial straits, family disagreements are common threads readers can identify with. As things get tough, the tough get going to solve their problems and to survive. That struggle fosters independence in characters of Second Hand Rose. Independence of people and God.
The story follows Rosalyn working toward spiritual maturity to match the life maturity that early marriage and widowhood have brought in ways that give the reader pause for introspection while enjoying a well written story.
The characters are well drawn (almost all very attractive), the kids are articulate and honest — almost painfully so. Family counts for a lot and characters have to grow-up about tolerance, patience and forgiveness with family.
Woven within a tapestry of the scenic beauty of the Smoky Mountains and the tolerant, helpful culture of mountain folk that is not exceptional, but has it match in equal generosity from people who weren't raised in the mountains, Second Hand Rose reveals a few of my favorite expressions without beating the reader over the head or even acknowledging them. I found myself thinking "when you've seen one, you've seen them all" when various characters played out their parts.
Each reader comes to a point in the recounting of a story featuring the days of others when the reader can reflect and be inspired by a well-written story about the advantages of turning to the Wisdom or the Word and God and faith to culture the greatest of the fruits of the spirit.
I read this book on my Kindle Fire and highly recommend it to other readers. It gives you something to think about, shows you some beautiful country and entertains well. Now, I'm wishing for a Madame Hardy Rose.
Tough times — loss of loved ones, financial straits, family disagreements are common threads readers can identify with. As things get tough, the tough get going to solve their problems and to survive. That struggle fosters independence in characters of Second Hand Rose. Independence of people and God.
The story follows Rosalyn working toward spiritual maturity to match the life maturity that early marriage and widowhood have brought in ways that give the reader pause for introspection while enjoying a well written story.
The characters are well drawn (almost all very attractive), the kids are articulate and honest — almost painfully so. Family counts for a lot and characters have to grow-up about tolerance, patience and forgiveness with family.
Woven within a tapestry of the scenic beauty of the Smoky Mountains and the tolerant, helpful culture of mountain folk that is not exceptional, but has it match in equal generosity from people who weren't raised in the mountains, Second Hand Rose reveals a few of my favorite expressions without beating the reader over the head or even acknowledging them. I found myself thinking "when you've seen one, you've seen them all" when various characters played out their parts.
Each reader comes to a point in the recounting of a story featuring the days of others when the reader can reflect and be inspired by a well-written story about the advantages of turning to the Wisdom or the Word and God and faith to culture the greatest of the fruits of the spirit.
I read this book on my Kindle Fire and highly recommend it to other readers. It gives you something to think about, shows you some beautiful country and entertains well. Now, I'm wishing for a Madame Hardy Rose.
February 23, 2015
Another great book in the Smoky Mountain series.
Rosalyn McCreary takes care of an estate called Saddle Ridge high up on a ridge outside the Smoky Mountains. When the property is sold, she is concerned that she will no longer have a job but the new owner assures her she can carry on. When she finds that the new owner is a Frenchman named Kendrick Lanier, she thinks he has misled her into believing that he only worked for the realty company. Now she finds that he is also the owner of the company as well as Saddle Ridge. She fights her attraction to Kendrick but he is patient and knows that it is just a matter of time before she will admit to her feelings for him.
She is one prickly woman with a terrible temper and it is good that Kendrick is so patient!
Rosalyn McCreary takes care of an estate called Saddle Ridge high up on a ridge outside the Smoky Mountains. When the property is sold, she is concerned that she will no longer have a job but the new owner assures her she can carry on. When she finds that the new owner is a Frenchman named Kendrick Lanier, she thinks he has misled her into believing that he only worked for the realty company. Now she finds that he is also the owner of the company as well as Saddle Ridge. She fights her attraction to Kendrick but he is patient and knows that it is just a matter of time before she will admit to her feelings for him.
She is one prickly woman with a terrible temper and it is good that Kendrick is so patient!
June 7, 2020
Second Hand Rose is book #5 in Lin Stepp’s remarkable Smoky Mountain series. Rosalyn McCreary is a widowed mother of three young children, and a business owner. Her life dictates that she must always be practical. This philosophy has served her well. Life is not easy, but she can manage. A spur-of-the-moment dance with a stranger creates an unwanted disruption. Kendrick Lanier, the stranger, doesn’t want to be a stranger. Can Rosalyn resist Kendrick’s advances and entanglements? Will her head or her heart win the ensuing battle? I especially loved the “spice” added by the children in this touching story!
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October 24, 2014Loved it such a sweet story
January 20, 2015
Fun read
I'm unfortunately reading this series out of order,but have found it really doesn't matter at all. Fun reading to wipe away an afternoon
I'm unfortunately reading this series out of order,but have found it really doesn't matter at all. Fun reading to wipe away an afternoon
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews