"Sweet, old-fashioned contemporary romance."

Josie Allen dreamed of being the director of Angel's Ridge's library since she was a little girl. After seven years at school, Josie, now Dr. Allen, has realized her dream. Too bad the dream is turning out to be somewhat of a nightmare. The new program she's trying to implement on the library's ancient computers keeps crashing, her childhood home needs more upkeep than she has time or money for, and the town matriarch seems to believe that loaning Josie the money for graduate school gives her the right to run Josie's life.

Town handyman Cole Craig has been attracted to Josie since they were in school, but he was from the "wrong side of the tracks" and back then, people like Josie and himself just didn't mix. His attraction to her never faded, however, and from the moment she returned to town, he's been searching for a way to make her see him in a different light. He helps Josie with her house and her computer problems, and as the pair spend more and more time together, their attraction to one another grows. This growing attraction is met with much disapproval from the town, especially Josie's benefactor.

This first installment in the Angel Ridge series is a very sweet, if somewhat old-fashioned, romance, which makes for an enjoyable diversion on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Reviewed by Tish Glasson
Posted May 14, 2004

Book One of the Angel Ridge Series Homespun Hearts: Hometown girl made good, Josie Allen, has returned to Angel Ridge after years away at school. All too soon, the new Dr. Allen finds that being the director of the town's prestigious library won't be easy. With the debt of her education hanging over her head in the form of her benefactor breathing down her neck, Josie barely has time to concentrate on the new computer system giving her almost as many problems. She definitely has no time for the distractions of a man from the wrong side of the Ridge-no matter how handsome he is. Cole Craig, the town handyman, is a blue collar constant in the small town. For as long as anyone remembers, he and his family have worked hard and kept to their own kind, but things aren't always as they appear. Cole has a secret! When Josie comes back to town, Cole can't keep his mind on business or his eyes off the girl of his youthful dreams. Determined to win Josie over, Cole sets a course for romance-the old fashioned way. Even with years of history and attraction forcing them together, social pressures and politics threaten to keep Josie and Cole apart. Can the guiding hands of the town's legendary angels and quirky residents keep love on track or will two hearts pay the price of prejudice?