Finest Kind of Love

Rating:
Summary: Exploring a different, romantic world
Review: Diana Tremain Braund makes her descriptions seem so real. As fun and romantic as the story was, it also takes place against a really different kind of background: coastal Maine. I've read all her books, and I think this was the best yet.

Rating:
Summary: Not Impressive
Review: I was not impressed at all by this book. All the Maine references were a bit heavyhanded. I felt like I was reading an advertisement at times. Half-way through I was ready to give up on it but the writing was passable so I finished it. Nothing memorable here.

Rating:
Summary: Here Fishy, Fishy...
Review: This is my first read of Diana Tremain Braund, and I'm now looking forward to reading her other books. I started this one Friday night and finished on Saturday afternoon. The story is set in Maine lobster country. Molly Bean, an orphan who was raised with her younger brother by a family friend, Auntie Em, operates a lobster boat. Her brother, younger by about 10 years and a virtual stranger to Molly, gets arrested for drug possession. There has also been a murder at the local university and Molly's ex-girlfriend is back in town. It's bad enough Molly has to deal with all of this, when along comes attorney Carolyn Stanley. Their first encounter is messy, but the two feel an immediate attraction. Molly finds herself behaving badly toward Carolyn, and Carolyn isn't sure pursuing a relationship is worth the headache. Matchmakers Allan (Carolyn's friend) and Charlie (Molly's friend), a couple for five years, get involved to ensure their good friends don't give up too soon.

This was a really nice book. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but they all contributed to the story line. I'm not sure there was the perfect balance between the drugs/homicide issue and the romance, but it didn't seem to drag the story down too much. Carolyn could have had any profession because her being a lawyer didn't impact the plot at all - it just seemed like an afterthought.

Overall good read. Recommended for a cold winter day accompanied with a hot pot of coffee. (That's half the year in Minnesota, and probably in Maine too!)