Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg

This novel is light Christian romance all the way.

Autumn is the owner of an old inn along the shore of Lake Michigan, having acquired it after her father died and her mother wanted nothing to do with it. But tourism is down and continual repairs has left Autumn in financial difficulty.

Blake has just returned to his home town after being gone for years. He is still trying to deal with his past and his part in the death of his brother. His reception is mixed as some still hold him responsible for the tragedy.

Autumn and Blake are unlikely friends as Blake's father owns a hotel, direct competition to Autumn's inn. The town is in need of promotional help, however, and Blake agrees to organize the last festival of the season – if Autumn will help. It will be a struggle as the hostility between the families goes back a long time.

The two work together and romance blossoms. Just when it looks like the two might get together, Autumn looses the inn and decided to take a job in Europe.

This is a fun romance. It is the second in a series. I read it without having read the first one, Made to Last, and enjoyed it but felt I had missed much of the earlier character development. To obtain full enjoyment of this novel you should read the earlier one.

The characters are well crafted. The plot is good. I did feel like the reconciliation of Blake with the people in the town was a bit fast and unrealistic, as was Autumn's change of heart near the end of the novel. This is romance, however, and romance often breaks the borders of sensible reality.

Melissa Tagg is a former newspaper reporter and current nonprofit grant writer. She is the author of Made to Last and blogs regularly at www.melissatagg.com.

Bethany House Publishers, 365 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the Book Club Network for the purpose of an independent and honest review.