About the Book
He’s torn between love and honor…
Lucas Danby has always regretted the decisions that caused his dishonorable discharge from the military—and he’s never stopped trying to redeem his honor. He’s spent the past decade taking on dangerous short-term missions as an elite private soldier—the only part of his life that’s ever gone right. But the high-risk work never cures his shame. Now he’s stuck stateside, mentoring a new recruit. Worse, he’s sick of lying to the people he cares about most—including the woman he’s secretly loved for years.
She can’t escape her house of memories…
Jenessa Belville should be happy. She’s the hometown girl everyone loves, after all. But she’s also the last Belville left—and if she had her way, she’d leave the name and all its painful memories behind. Which is exactly what she hopes to do once she sells Belville Park, the massive estate she inherited from her parents. First, though, she needs to restore the property’s once-glorious gardens. But on the same day she puts up the “For Sale” sign, she discovers three children hiding in the caretaker’s cottage, thrusting her into the unexpected role of temporary guardian.
Fighting for their future means healing from the past…
Struggling to mentor a young man with scars nearly as piercing as his own, Lucas offers to help Jenessa restore the Belville grounds. Though drawn together by a trio of kids who tug on their hearts and the sparks they can’t deny, past secrets and current sorrows threaten to pull them apart. Only the brightest love and hardest sacrifice can turn the house Jenessa never wanted into the home she and Lucas have always longed for.
Excerpt
Jenessa tucked her chin into the collar of her denim coat and stepped onto the brick path that led to the massive front door. The entrance was flanked on both sides by empty bronze urns and topped by a half-circle window of swirled glass. Prickly, untrimmed hedges lined the walkway and fanned out in front of the house.
Not exactly the homiest of pictures—no cozy porch or swaying wooden swing—but then, Belville Park hadn’t felt like home in years.
Which was exactly why she’d decided it was finally time. Mom had been gone a year; Dad, nearly two. And this place was far too big and, worse, far too crowded with memories, old sights and sounds she’d never be able to shake.
Dad’s yells and Mom’s tears and Aunt Lauren running from the house . . .
Closure, that’s what she needed. No more stalling, hoping if she waited long enough all her old questions might somehow find new answers. Wasn’t going to happen. The returned letter Aunt Lauren, Mom’s sister, hadn’t even bothered to open made that much clear.
She halted halfway up the brick path and pulled the For Sale by Owner sign from underneath her arm. Grass and dirt gave way easily when she pressed the metal stakes down, using the wedged heel of her ankle boot to push the sign into place.
She took a step back, resolve or maybe relief filling her sigh. And then, a smile. Because she was being dramatic. Sam would make fun of her if he were here. Mara and Marshall would laugh. Lucas would stand by, quiet as ever at first, but then he’d most likely be the first to ask if she was sure she wanted to do this.
“Yes, I’m sure.” The wind hushed her whisper.
But Paige must’ve heard it anyway. “Um, if you’re, like, having a moment or something, I can wait back at the car.”
A laugh pushed free. “I can’t help being theatrical. It’s in my blood. My mom was an actress back in the day.” Before she’d married Dad and settled into her role as a senator’s wife.
Jenessa hurried to the entrance, balancing her box in one hand and with her other, plucking a key from the pocket of her maroon skirt—a perfect match for the scarf taming her near-black waves. The moment she opened the door, the familiar scent of Mom’s old lavender perfume wafted over her. Stupefying, how it managed to linger even after all these months.
Paige’s gasp accompanied the sound of her steps as she followed Jenessa.
“I’m telling you, Parker, don’t let the foyer fool you. It goes downhill from here.”
Review
Friends-to-more is one of my favourite romance tropes, but there’s something extra potent about a favourite trope in the hands of Melissa Tagg. The warmth of her writing, the depth and shades of her characterisation, the way she can combine light-heartedness with a soul-searching story—it always delivers a fully satisfying read, no matter the characters, no matter the plot. Need I say Some Bright Someday fulfilled all those expectations and more?
Well, it did.
Lucas Danby isn’t the sullen, troubled guy readers first met in Keep Holding On, but he’s still carrying some hefty baggage thanks to his dishonourable discharge and a strained relationship with his father. Even so, he’s exactly the kind of guy you would want as a friend, and there’s something about an honourable, hard-working guy trying to make up for past mistakes that always pulls at my heart strings.
And speaking of pulling at heart strings, Colie, Violet, and Cade do exactly that. Part of what made this story such an absorbing read was that there wasn’t an obvious path for the story to take, and Lucas and Jen’s budding romance was both a natural development and a complicating factor. I just love it when all the parts of a story come together in an interwoven tangle that doesn’t have an easy solution, and this one even threw in a (literally) jaw-dropping surprise along the way. Combine that with Tagg’s writing, which is like snuggling into your favourite comfy jumper on a cold day, and you have a recipe for contemporary romance magic.
I purchased my own copy of this book. As always, this review is my honest and unbiased opinion.
Previous Books in the Series
Read my review for Now and Then and Always
About the Author
Melissa Tagg is the award-winning author of the popular Walker Family series, the Where Love Begins series and the Enchanted Christmas Collection. Her latest release, Now and Then and Always, kicks off a new series set in her beloved-by-readers fictional town of Maple Valley. Melissa is a former reporter, current nonprofit grant writer and total Iowa girl.
Melissa’s books include a 2018 ACFW Carol Award Winner (One Enchanted Noel), an RT Book Reviews TOP PICK (All This Time) and a Publishers Weekly Spring Top Ten Pick (Like Never Before).
Melissa has taught at multiple national writing conferences, as well as workshops and women’s retreats. When she’s not writing, she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever (not that she’s biased), bookworming, watching old movies, and spoiling her nieces and nephews.
Connect with Melissa: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
I read this book and LOVED it!
This is a new author to me. I will have to try one of her books, as this one certainly sounds like one I would enjoy. Which one do you recommend I start with?