Here’s the blurb:
Mandy Steenburg thinks her doctorate in education has prepared her to run any school district – until she tangles with the moonshine-making, coon-dog-owning denizens of a tiny district in Pacific Northwest timber country. She’s determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. And though she has to literally swim through perilous waters, she finds a reason to stay and chance the odds.
At first I thought, hmm. A romance? Not usually my thing. The main character is a school district superintendent? Sounds hard to form a connection.
But, I really liked this book. The writing is skillful. I admit, I’m a grammar snob, and adverbs and point-of-view shifts get my knickers in a bunch. None of that stuff here. I was left to enjoy the unfolding of the story without such distractions.
I’m from Washington state, so I immediately loved the setting. I never met any moonshiners during my years in the Northwest, but things felt realistic and believable.
Although some plot points felt predictable, there were still enough surprises to keep me happy. Plus, it’s squeaky-clean enough to buy for anyone without fear.
One thing that bugged me: the main character gets teased/bullied by the students she’s put in charge of, since they preferred the previous superintendent. I sort of scratched my head at that, because as a kid I had zero interaction with the district superintendent. I wasn’t aware of that layer of administration at all. I checked with my high school daughter, and she agreed. Perhaps in a small district, in a super small town atmosphere, this sort of thing could happen. Still, it stopped me.
I recommend this to anyone who likes a clean romantic suspense full of great descriptions and interesting locale.
Thanks for your review. I appreciated your comments on my writing and also your comments on the students’ awareness of the superintendent. I hadn’t thought of that when I wrote the book, simply because, as a teenager in remote or very small (graduating class of 13) school districts, I was very aware of the superintendent of schools. Mandy would have come from a situation like that of you and your daughter (or like me when I taught school in a large CA district), and this would have been another cultural clash.
It’s great to see the book from another angle. Thanks again.
BTW, I’ve been having a tussle getting a comment posted. I kept hitting enter after I filled in a cell, and I think I may have posted several blanks. Old dogs and new tricks, you know.
Thanks for the comment, Liz. I look forward to meeting you in person sometime…perhaps at Storymakers?
You got it! I’ll be there! I’d love to meet you. You’ve got an impressive blog. Both the appearance and writing are very clean.
I’m not great with grammar, but it makes me feel good that I loved this book as maybe I am more privy to good writing technique than I thought. I loved this good fun easy read. It was light, mysterious, and romantic and took me on an adventure…everything I hope for in a book. Loved your review. Agree with Liz on the clean look of your blog.
Oops Liz said about the blog that on the that last book review that I read, but yours is a clean style also and even if Liz didn’t say it, I agree with it. 🙂