Three Little Words

North Country Stories #1

by Carrie Alexander

Sometimes real life is better than fiction

Small-town librarian Tess Bucek can't help it if her imagination runs wild. Fiction is simply more fun than reality. So when the mysterious Connor Reed wanders into her library she's sure he's up to no good. But it doesn't take long before she discovers Connor has come north to escape the notoriety that accompanied his involvement in a sensational trial.

Now that he's here, Connor sees that Tess will be the perfect person to help him in a matter he prefers to keep quiet—not easy to do in a town where everyone knows your business.

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

There was never any doubt that Carrie Antilla would have a creative career. As a two-year-old, she imagined dinosaurs on the lawn. By six it was witches in the bedroom closet. Soon she was designing elaborate paper-doll wardrobes and writing stories about Teddy the Bear. Eventually she graduated to short horror stories and oil paints. She was working as an artist and a part-time librarian when she "discovered" her first romance novel and thought, "Hey, I can write one of these!" So she did.

Carrie Alexander is now the author of several books for various Harlequin lines, with many more crowding her imagination, demanding to be written. She has been a RITA and Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice finalist, but finds her greatest reward in becoming friends with her readers, even if it's only for the length of a book.

Carrie lives in the upper peninsula of Michigan, where the long winters still don't give her enough time to significantly reduce her to-be-read mountains of books. When she's not reading or writing (which is rare), she is painting and decorating her own or her friends' houses, watching football, and shoveling snow. She loves to hear from readers, who can contact her by e-mail: carriealexander1@aol.com

Reviews

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was passed on to me because it's about a librarian. Tess Bucek has a Major Tragedy in her past. She was engaged to a man who died in a tragic car accident. These days she stays in the library and has an incredibly active imagination. This includes imagining that Connor Reed, the new guy in town, is a smuggler or maybe a pirate. Instead, it turns out that he's a notorious true crime writer who has returned to Michigan to restore an old lighthouse so that his grandfather can see it in all it's glory one more time.
Better developed than most Harlequin shorts and good for a librarian romance.

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tess Bucek, librarian and Scrabble Scramble organizer, meets Connor Reed when he returns to the area to fix up a decommissioned lighthouse. His grandfather was lighthouse keeper there for 30 years and Connor had spent some of his summers at the lighthouse when he was a young teen. He hopes to take his 89 year old grandfather back there for a final visit. His grandfather also never learned to read and Connor solicits Tess’ help to teach him. The scrabble tournament is a running theme throughout the story. Both Connor and Tess have back-stories that need resolution before they can move forward. A nice romance.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

just a simple to read love story.