I received this copy via a Goodreads giveaway. What an utter blessing to me! This book was carefully planned from beginning to end. It had so many layers in the story. Evangeline is unfairly sent to prison by an officer named Chris, who ends up getting her released early, striving to help her get her life back, and becomes her love interest. Evangeline shows her strength in surviving when her whole family unfairly despises her. Evangeline shows her strength in receiving everyone's burdens as her own to have this most resourceful brain to come up with plans to help out. I don't want to give a lot of this story away. It is worth the read. The romance is great and believable. It was also nice to read the summary of the story written by the author herself, Jennifer Ryan, as well as her thoughts and how she created this wonderful plot that is satisfying and suspenseful until the very last word. It's the kind of book you can read, smile to yourself, and be ready to go to bed with sweet dreams (and not just because of the romance!) I was interested in discovering that Jennifer Ryan was a stay at home mom. Not that I don't respect that, because I personally did that nearly as much as I had worked in my whole work history, BUT I had to wonder if Evangeline was written to reflect herself, a woman who is highly underestimated on her capabilities. I thought all the business plans that Evangeline contrived, and all the jobs she handled at the same time were genius! This is not a fluff story romance. I think that both men and women will enjoy it as is. I do have to say that I felt a kinship with Evangeline. I felt like I have suffered many "scars" of life. I think I have had multiple people dump their problems in my lap and in the past, have tried to solve them all. It burned me out and made me ill, so now I am more selective when people come my way trying to throw responsibility on me. But Evangeline is my hero! Read the book! ( )

Not normally interested in novels around prison or heists or conmen/women. But this is a story that begins as she's in front of the parole board. All in the first person - not my favourite of course, but beautifully read by Brittany Pressley. She tries to rebuild her life, at 23 I think, brave and smart. It's more sentimental than most modern romances but I didn't mind that - I don't encounter much of old-fashioned sentimentality in romance novels. ( )

This book has characters that you can easily visualize in your mind. It begins when Evangeline just got out of prison after four years with scars on her face, neck and shoulder from a vicious fight that nearly killed her. She was arrested by Lt. Chris Chambers for transporting stolen and valuable wine from the Napa area of California. It was also the same man that requested her release right after her father died leaving his only daughter in charge of the family ranch with two opposing brothers. She returned to a home where everyone in the family was angry at her for doing something totally out of line and reckless. Her mother wanted nothing to do with her making her feel unwanted. Only her grandmother seemed to be willing to give her a hug.

The book had a strong beginning and then half way, it was too easy to figure out the rest of the plot. However, there's some interesting themes in the story. It shows how one mistake can make a big impact in someone's life. It's about one girl's strength and skill to make the best of a situation. It's a sweet soft romance that may appeal to those that are looking for an easy read. ( )