"enjoyable contemporary romance"

In Serenity, South Carolina, she muses that perhaps it is seeing the happiness of her two best friends (see STEALING HOME and A SLICE OF HEAVEN) but divorce attorney Helen Decatur suddenly feels alone. Her work always was enough, but now at forty two years old that reaction formation no longer works as even her biological clock has abruptly set off alarms. She decides to have a child, but has no one in her life to sire the infant.

If she was to choose, Helen would want pastry chef Erik Whitney as the father of her offspring. The attraction between them is palpable as her buddies can sense it as well but he seems to ignore hisr feelings. She begins a scheme to seduce the chef, but when she falls in love she realizes she wants to raise a family with him; Erik has personal reasons from his past to reject the love she offers him.

The final Sweet Magnolias tale is an enjoyable contemporary romance as the readers will enjoy the often amusing witty repartee between Helen and Erik, who both have serious issues that surface as their relationship simmers before boiling. The story line is entertaining due to the antics of the lead couple encouraged by her best friends and their beloved men returning from the previous novels. Readers will agree that "Serenity will never be the same" after this charming trilogy.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 27, 2007

Summary

Helen Decatur spent a lifetime setting goals—getting through college and law school, opening her own practice, becoming financially secure and establishing herself as one of the most highly respected matrimonial attorneys in the state of South Carolina. Achieving those goals was a breeze compared to the one she's faced with now.

The most driven—and cynical—of the Sweet Magnolias, Helen is forty-two, single and suddenly ready for the family she's put on the back burner for all these years. Unfortunately, having a child at her age comes with lots of complications, not the least of which is the absence of a serious relationship in her life.

But Helen's not the type of woman to wait around for fate to step in. Taking charge of her own destiny puts her at odds with her two best friends, sets sparks flying with a man who doesn't want a family, and leads her straight into the most unexpected complication of all...love.