Like Never Before by Melissa Tagg

This is a delightful romance set in the world of the dying small town newspaper.

I liked the characters. Amelia has been the editor of Maple Valley newspaper since the owner died. The paper's future is uncertain. It may be taken over by a larger paper and essentially shut down, the subscribers rolled into the service of the broader paper. But Amelia has a heart for the paper and is struggling to keep it going. She loves telling a good story. As a history buff, she has an idea to make a special edition and earn the support of the town.

Amelia has long admired the writing of Logan. He wrote for the local paper before making it big as a speech writer in L.A. But Amelia's relationship with Logan will be a tumultuous one as he has inherited the Maple Valley paper and plans to sell it.

Logan is a nice fellow but has troubles of his own. His wife died two years before and he has been caring for their adopted daughter. That means a nanny on many days. He knows he is not spending enough time with her and that troubles him. It's going to cause him trouble too.

So there are a couple of good characters in the novel. They are well developed and lovable, even if they are flawed. They both have hurts from the past that make a possible romance difficult.

I love the small town life of Maple Falls. It reminded me of what small town life in rural America used to be. You kiss a gal and ten minutes later the whole town knows. But when you have a problem, they're behind you too.

I always like to learn a little something when I read a novel and this time it was about Charles Lindbergh and his arrival in Paris after flying the Atlantic.

I recommend this novel to those who enjoy a good Christian romance. Although the characters have been in the previous book in this series the novel reads very well on its own.

You can read an excerpt here.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Melissa Tagg is a former reporter, works at a homeless ministry, and is the marketing/events coordinator for My Book Therapy, a craft-and-coaching community for writers. You can find out more about this Iowa girl at www.melissatagg.com.

Bethany House Publishers, 352 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.