Title:
Only You
Author:
Deborah Grace-
Staley
Published By:
Echelon Press
ISBN:
1-59080-340-X
Release Date:
June 2004
Format:
Electronic
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Josie Lee Allen is back. She's come home to Angel Ridge in order to be the new director of the Angel Ridge Library. Expectations are high and she is going to be watched by the snobbiest townspeople, the McKays. The McKay Foundation paid for her education and for the creation of her highly sought after library cataloging system. She's not expecting a big homecoming and she certainly wasn't expecting a pipe to burst in her house. Cole Craig, local handyman extraordinaire, comes charging to the rescue though.
Cole has been infatuated with Josie Lee since their days in high school. She was a quiet and subdued girl and he was considered town trash, so he could never reveal to her how much he admired her. But things have changed. Cole is now a highly regarded repairman in Angel Ridge, though he is still considered to be on the lower rungs of the Angel Ridge social status. But this doesn't dissuade him from pursuing Josie Lee. He wants her even more than he did as a young man, and this time he's not going to let anyone talk him out of it.
Josie has never been pursued so ardently before. In fact, she's never been pursued at all. Men were never interested in her; she was too academic for their tastes, so Josie lived a life of isolation. All that changes when Cole starts laying on the charm and courting her, old-fashioned style. Things heat up between them real fast and soon the town's folk's tongues are a-wagging with the latest gossip about Josie and Cole. When the McKay's threaten to take away Josie's directorship of the library because of her involvement with Cole, Josie takes a stand. She's not going to let anyone dictate to her, especially not about the man she loves. Of course, Cole still has a few tricks up his sleeve too, and he's certainly not all that he seems.
This is a delightful and charming old-fashioned courtship between two great characters. Cole is incredibly sweet and loving to Josie, and Josie is not embarrassed to stand up for herself or her man. Deborah Grace-Staley has written a wonderful book, a great start to her Angel Ridge series. I wasn't able to put this story down. I enjoyed watching Josie grow from town mouse to town lion, and I loved seeing Cole do everything to save his ladylove. You won't be disappointed with Only You: it has great characters, a lovely romance, and an interesting plot. Deborah Grace-Staley has written a prize of a story.Reviewed by: Sarah
