Mommy in Training

Mommy In Training by Shelley Galloway is an endearing, well written romance. Minnie Clark is trying to juggle several balls at once. First there is her newly orphaned niece she is a guardian for, then there is the big SavNGo that is coming to town. Minnie runs a specialty card shop and is afraid this mega store will hurt her business. To top it all off her new neighbor is her old high school crush. Matt Madigan director of store planning for SavNGo has returned to his hometown in the hopes of supplying much needed jobs. He also wants to repay the woman that took him in when his world fell apart in high school. Matt wasn't planning on being attracted to Minnie Clark his neighbor across the street. Minnie always had a crush on Matt but he was dating her more popular sister at the time. Minnie finds herself with grownup feelings for Matt but will that change when she finds out the real reason he is back in town. Matt and Minnie put their differences aside to get to know each other. Each have their own struggles to overcome and the journey in this books is heartwarming. I can always count on a feel good book when I pick up a book by this author.

Matt Madigan left his hometown of Crescent View, Texas at the first opportunity he could. He never recovered from when he was a high school senior whose father died leaving him an orphan; he moved in with the kind neighbor Mrs. Wyzecki. He applied for scholarships, got one, and left Texas including his high school sweetheart Paige behind although he was dumping her anyway for doing the football team. Once he left he never came back even for Paige's funeral after she and her husband died in a car accident. Now he is back in town opening up a SavNGo superstore that he believes will save the dying town. He knows Paige's younger sister Minnie Clark is raising his late girlfriend's five year old daughter Kimber and runs a local gift store. He also knows he is attracted to Minnie though she and much of the town's storeowners loath what he is bringing to Crescent View as a superstore means they will soon be having out of business sales. This is an intriguing contemporary family drama as the aunt and her niece struggle to move on since the latter's mommy died last year; ironically though he literally moved on, Matt also struggles with emotionally moving on. As Minnie and Matt fall in love, he wonders if he has come home for the first time since his dad's death. Fans will enjoy this fine contemporary small-town Texas romance refreshed by Minnie's amusing commentaries re her shortfalls while Matt thinks she is the perfect Clark sister. Harriet Klausner