Love's Sweet Beginning ~ Review

Love's Sweet Beginning
Sisters at Heart - Book 3
By Ann Shorey

Cassie Haddon is determined to make her way and to support both herself and her mother.  Her uncle says she's useless and she is going to prove him and everyone else wrong.  But first she has to convince Jacob West to give her a job in his restaurant.

But her mother can't accept Cassie's new status as a lowly servant.  After all Cassie has been raised to be the perfect lady of luxury and the wife of a man of social status and wealth.  And the house that Cassie procures for them is so far beneath what they are used to that her mother is in a continual pout.

Jacob never planned to hire more help for his restaurant/grocery but Cassie's determination and spirit manage to convince him that she's asset and not a hinderance.  But Jacob is hiding from his past - a past that  he fears could destroy everything he has accomplished in Nobel Springs and a possibility of a future with Cassie.

Fearing that Cassie may never rise above the servant role she has taken, her mother begins manipulating to secure the future she envisions for her daughter - a future that includes wealth, prestige, and luxury. But a future without the assurance of love isn't in Cassie's plans, but how can she fight for the future she desires and still honor her mother?

As Cassie and Jacob work towards their continued success they must come to terms with the issues that are keeping them apart before they can discover all that the future has to offer them.  Secrets from the past must be laid to rest and there are definitely some interesting ones that are revealed throughout the book.

The Sisters at Heart series of books can be stand-alone books, but by reading them all you will have more fully developed characters whom one will see grow throughout the series.  Love's Sweet Beginnings is an enlightening glimpse at the railroad industry at its beginnings and the expansion that it brought with it as it moved west.  The status of the recently freed slaves is also explored and presented in the presence of two characters.  All-in-all this is a well-written book that capture your attention and provide a welcome week-end distraction.

I was provided a copy of this book by the Revell Reads blogger program in exchange for my honest and original review.

What will it take for a once-privileged young woman to make her way in the world? 

It isn't Cassie Haddon's fault that she has reached the age of twenty-five without possessing any useful skills. Until the War Between the States, she always had servants. Since then, she and her mother have been forced to rely on family to care for them. But now the well of human kindness has run dry--and Cassie must find work to support them.

Unfortunately, leaving the past behind is easier said than done, and Cassie must summon all of her courage and wits to convince local restaurateur and grocer Jacob West that she's exactly what his business needs.

With her signature sweet romance, Ann Shorey weaves a tale of two people from different backgrounds finding common ground and the hope of a bright future together.