As Good as the First Time

September 1, 2018
A New Yorker down on her luck travels to the Georgia town where she spent her summers growing up.Olivia Gale is a high-strung marketing specialist who has just lost her job. To make matters worse, her boyfriend has abandoned her and taken her TV with him. When she learns at a family gathering that her favorite aunt has broken her hip, she sets off to Sugar Lake, Georgia, to help run the family bakery. What she doesn't expect is to be joined by her younger sister, with whom she doesn't get along. When the pair arrive in the town that has greatly changed since they spent summers playing with the local children, the last thing Olivia expects is to run into her first flame. Clayton Morris left Sugar Lake without a word to Olivia when they were teenagers, and the last she'd heard, he had a wife and child. He's moved back to Sugar Lake with the daughter, Hope, but without the wife and spends his days as the local fire chief. Olivia is hesitant to revive their acquaintanceship, but small towns have a way of throwing people together. In the first book of a new series, Jackson (The Betting Vow, 2017, etc.) introduces readers to a family and community that really care about each other. Unfortunately, though the book is billed as a "wholesome romance," the romantic plot takes a back seat to all the other elements of Olivia's story. Her need to revisit her goals and desires, along with her relationship with her sister and aunts, are well-thought-out and brought to fruition, while her history with Clayton and their lackluster reunion seem like afterthoughts.A cute but uninspiring story of self-discovery that does not live up to its romantic potential.

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September 10, 2018
Jackson’s contemporary story of reunited lovers is a decent if unremarkable series launch. After Olivia Gale’s business-minded boyfriend dumps her and she gets fired on the same day, she agrees to help out with the family bakery in Sugar Lake, Ga. Her aunt Joyce, who runs the bakery, has taken a nasty fall and really needs Olivia’s assistance. Returning home, however, places Olivia squarely in the path of firefighter Clayton Morris, who broke her heart when they were teenagers and is currently living in the house next door with his preteen daughter. Following a fire at the bakery, Olivia and Clayton keep running into each other. Through a tense game of pool and an incident with an anthill, Clayton does his best to show her that he’s changed. The slow redevelopment of Clayton and Olivia’s relationship founders a bit on the shoals of Olivia’s uncertainty and dithering, but readers will cheer her on toward her decision to give Clayton a second chance. Contemporary romance fans who don’t mind a slow story will enjoy relaxing with this one. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.

September 15, 2018
Olivia "Liv" Gale loses her job and her boyfriend (and her TV) in one weekend, and there's a family emergency in Georgia, so Liv gladly leaves New York City behind for Sugar Lake, reluctantly allowing her directionless younger sister to join her. Aunt Joyce thinks she is managing a broken hip and Goode 'N Sweet, the family bakery, just fine, but she is glad to see her nieces, as are the myriad extended-family members who live nearby. Also glad to see Liv is Clayton Morris, who broke her heart during her last summer in Sugar Lake. But Clayton had reasons, and now he is back in town as the fire chief with his tween daughter in tow. Liv's stubbornness is no match for Clayton's sweetness, though she puts up a good fight. Jackson (The Betting Vow?, 2017) really shines in the dialogue as one exchange can reveal a lifetime of sibling rivalry, while making the reader laugh. Liv's journey to loosen up and bake with love is a must-read for fans of second-chance love stories and sweet small-town romances.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)