Review: Restless in Carolina

Restless in Carolia

by Tamara Leigh

Why did you choose this book? I was attracted to the cover

When did you read this book? April 2013

Who should read this book? anyone looking for a romance with southern charm

Source: library

Here is a synopsis of Restless in Carolina from IndieBound.

She’s all about going green. Could he be her white knight—or will he make her see red?

Tree-huggin’, animal-lovin’ Bridget Pickwick-Buchanan is on a mission. Well, two. First she has to come to terms with being a widow at thirty-three. After all, it’s been four years and even her five-year-old niece and nephew think it’s time she shed her widow’s weeds. Second, she needs to find a buyer for her family’s estate—a Biltmore-inspired mansion surrounded by hundreds of acres of unspoiled forestland. With family obligations forcing the sale, Bridget is determined to find an eco-friendly developer to buy the land, someone who won’t turn it into single-family homes or a cheesy theme park.

Enter J. C. Dirk, a high-energy developer from Atlanta whose green property developments have earned him national acclaim. When he doesn’t return her calls, Bridget decides a personal visit is in order. Unfortunately, J. C. Dirk is neither amused nor interested when she interrupts his meeting—until she mentions her family name. In short order, he finds himself in North Carolina, and Bridget has her white knight—in more ways than one. But there are things Bridget doesn’t know about J. C., and it could mean the end of everything she’s worked for…and break her heart.

My Review 

I picked this book up because the cover called out to me. I have to be honest and say I wasn’t expecting much from it. I was expecting a fun, light-hearted romance with not a lot to it. But while it was fun, a light read, and a romance, it had a bit more substance to it, which was  a nice surprise.

Bridget is a widow, still mourning her husband after four years. She is an environmentalist from a family that is prominent in her area.....for some of the wrong reasons. At one time the family was wealthy and rumor has it that much of the wealth was the result of some shady practices by great-grandpa. Now though, the wealth is gone and the family needs to sell the estate. Several developers have an interest, but Bridget is determined that the buyer be environmentally friendly.

With running her nursery while dealing with an interfering father, an uncle with Alzheimers, and a young, mischievous twin niece and nephew, Bridget has her hands full. Enter into that two developers competing for her attention, and we get a fun, if a bit predictable, story. Yes, I saw the end coming a mile away, but that didn’t detract from the story. For the most part, the characters were well developed and there were a couple of twists that kept things interesting.

There are discussion questions at the end, and in reading those, I learned that this is book three of the Southern Discomfort series. I did not know that when I read the big, and not reading the first two did not detract from this story. The author included enough back story that I didn’t feel I missed anything. You may also want to know that this is listed as ‘Christian’ fiction, and although the characters relationship with God is mentioned throughout the book, this is not ‘hit you over the head Bible thumping’. If you are looking for a fun summer read, be sure to take a look at this one!

My Rating:  ★★★1/2  3-1/2 Stars