Always Emily by Mary Sullivan

 

Summary:

 

This time, it has to be forever.

Emily Jordan has been in and out of Salem Pearce's life for years. As an archaeologist, her work often took her far away even when he asked her to stay. She called it bad timing. He called it running away. Now she's back and asking for one last chance.

But Salem is a single father with more than himself to think about. If he gives Emily another shot and she takes off again, it'll hurt his daughters, too. He can't take that risk. But deep down, he needs Emily. He always has. Maybe this time she'll stay.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 384 pages (Mass Market Paperback)

Source: Review Copy

Available Formats: Print/E-book

Expected Publication Date: May 6th 2014 by Harlequin

 

Last month I had the pleasure of being contacted by Mary Sullivan to review her book and we got to meet at a local author/reader event that is held bi-monthly for Canadian writers and talk for a few minutes before she handed over the goods (the book) which I may or may not have ferreted away in my purse, eagerly anticipating my chance to read it. Which by the way happened the other day.

 

Always Emily was my first read by Mary Sullivan but it won't be my last by a long shot. Set in a small town there's that sense of homecoming which I often find in settings like this and for Emily it truly was homecoming. She's decided to give up Archaeology and return to her roots, and to her childhood crush Salem.

 

I loved Emily's character to bits. She was real, honest, and selfless. Her heart was so big it just made me like her more especially after what she does to help a group of young women do. What did she help with you might ask? Well you'll just have to read the book to find out for yourself.   I think what I loved most was that she stopped running from her past and used her past experiences to benefit others even though she had to over come a lot of things like bullying when she was a teen and she had to deal with a horribly unfaithful ex who just happened to sort of be her boss on the archaeological digs she worked on. In the beginning I was a little worried that this might be a bit of a love triangle between she, and the two men in her life but I needn't have worried since she smartened up, grew a backbone and said "See Ya!" to her ex. Unfortunately for her, he like all bullies hated not being in control and decided to screw things up for her in a big way. Never fear though because Salem, even after all these years still came to her rescue.

 

Salem, he was our tall, dark and handsome hero who wasn't much of a talker, but boy oh boy did he love his daughters, his old man and his Emily. He's proud of his Ute heritage and he's proud of how far he's come as a man. He had his girls young, and he was in love with Emily when he married their mother who has since died of an overdose. He's conflicted about his feelings and I wasn't all to sure about him for much of the book because of how standoffish he was with Emily. He was scared she'd leave and go back to Archaeology and break his heart and his daughters which I get. However, I didn't like that Emily had no right to want things. He moved on with his life before so I found it kind of unfair of him to treat her like she wasn't allowed to live life if he wasn't in it before. In the end though, after certain circumstances came to light I really came to care about Salem and like him.

 

As a couple I thought that Emily and Salem really balanced each other out. He was always looking for peace, but Emily is the exact opposite she's always on the move and full of energy and she has the uncanny ability to bring grumpy Salem out of his shell along with the help of his daughters who Emily absolutely adores. I loved the chemistry between them and thought that they were perfect for each other, which they figured out for themselves in the end.

 

I loved the romance of Always Emily. Mary Sullivan wrote a lovely contemporary romance novel that brought to mind Robyn Carr's Virgin River series. This had a little bit of drama, romance, and an amazing cast of side characters that we actually got to know which for me is a rare commodity in many Harlequin SuperRomance titles. I especially loved Salem's daughter Aiyana, she played a huge role in this novel and I thought it was great that she along with her sister were used properly in the story and not as props. I also liked Cody, who was Emily's younger brother a lot because of how he helped Aiyana out of a rough situation and it seems like there was a definite spark between the two that has me wishing that Mary would write a romance for them next.

 

Full of substance, laughter, drama, a fantastic plot and a perfect romance this one was a home run for me and I can't wait to read more of Mary's romances in the near future because if they're anything like Always Emily, then she's found her new number one fan.

 

I would recommend Always Emily to all fans of Harlequin SuperRomances, contemporary romances set in small towns and those looking for a romance that has a great plot, and a second chance love story.

 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

 

 

Loved It!
★★★★★

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