A friend (MH) sent me this book in a box of books. It's rare that I give a Love Inspired Book more than 3 stars. Pretty much, when you pick up a Love Inspired book, you know that the featured couple are going to get together by the end of the book (whether it be serious dating, engagement, or a wedding/marriage). There's only so many stories you can tell around that plot.

I have read other books in this subseries (Alaskan Grooms) or that are set in Love, Alaska.

I liked both main characters in this book. Annie loves books and believes they are a great tool for learning and for having "adventures". I like her vintage style. What I don't like about Annie: her hidden agenda to find her family (I'm not sure why she just couldn't tell people after she had arrived that she was related to Aurelia Alice Murray and see what came of it.), her tendency to "fly off the handle" at some of Declan's omissions and the way he presents things to her.

Declan has flaws, but for all of that, he is a likable character. I understand his fears about piloting after a crash (though I do think he took a bit too long before someone forced him to fly again--then again, I don't know if the FAA policy forbid him to pilot until their investigation was completed. Declan does seem to have loyalty to those he loves and feels accepted by (The Prescott family) though his own brother (Finn) doesn't always seem to get the same consideration.

Both Annie and Declan have been hurt by life in the past so some of their dithering is understandable, but that same issue is very common in romance stories and gets old to read after a while. Sometimes I just want to shake the characters and tell them to talk honestly with one another and clear up the misconceptions between them.

I did feel sorry for Dwight and I do hope he eventually gets his own story. Annie's advice to be himself is probably good advice. I suspect Declan's brother Finn and the town doctor Liam will eventually get their own stories in this series too. ( )