Ciana Beauchamp hasn't seen Jon Mercer in months. He shows up out the blue one day and waltzes onto her farm like nothing happened. However relieved Ciana is to see him she isn't quite ready to let her guard down just yet. She's still mourning the lose of her friend, Arie, uncovering long kept family secrets and on top of that she's desperately fighting to keep her farm and the land that surrounds it from being turned into a new housing development.

Eden can't stop thinking about Garrett and the time they spent together. She's tried to find a way to get in touch with him but has come up empty handed. That is until a letter from Arie, written before her death, gives her hope that she'll be able to find him and mend their relationship. But while searching for him Eden can't stop thinking about the secrets she's kept from him and how it will effect the way he thinks about her.

When disaster strikes, both girls will be put to the test, will it bring them closer to the ones they love or merely drive wedges between them?

Let me start off by saying I was completely out of the loop from page one. It only took me a couple pages to realize that I was smack in the middle of a series. I can honestly say I have never read a series out of order until this one. And I don't recommend it.

It didn't take long to catch up, although there were still some places where I found myself scratching my head trying to piece together the puzzle.

Usually when reading a Lurlene McDaniel book I carry around a box of tissues, anticipating the endless amount of tears that will be shed before the book is finished. However with this one, and I'm not sure if it's because it is part of a series or not, I didn't feel any real connection with the characters, thus my dry eyes at the end.

Don't get me wrong I really liked the story, I loved the fact that Ciana would stop at nothing to keep her farm and of course I instantly liked Jon but it was just an okay book. I expected it to be fantastic and I felt letdown at the ending.

I'm assuming that a third book will be coming and perhaps (hopefully) I'll like that one a little more.

Until next time,
Ginger

In compliance with FTC guidelines I am disclosing that this book was given to me for free to review.
My review is my honest opinion. ( )

I've wanted to read The Year of Chasing Dreams since I read the first, The Year of Luminous Love. I remembered enjoying the characters and even though Arie isn't in this one, I still liked Eden and Ciana. Besides, Lurlene McDaniel is on my automatic read list so, I would have wanted to anyways.

Lurlene has a way of crafting characters in such a way that I am so invested in them and she always writes with such emotions. This one is no different although this one didn't have as much of a young adult feel as her normal ones. The characters are 20 in this one though so it could pass for NA I suppose. Though sex and foreplay are mentioned, nothing is explicit so YA audiences wouldn't be appalled.

Eden and Ciana are tested in whole new ways in this one, and it made me feel so much for them. They have ideas of how they want their lives to go, but love, tragedies and the unexpected definitely makes them work for what they want and love. Garrett, Enzo and Jon also make repeat appearances, and Ciana is faced with a hard choice, and she has to listen to her heart.

I love the southern hospitality and the theme of family and friendship found in these books. Blood family has its strong place, but also the family that you chose, and the people that you let in your life and keep around.

I flew through this one and enjoyed and felt for the characters that I've come to love and I am hoping for more books in this series.

Bottom Line: Emotional and great catching up with characters I enjoyed. ( )