Sweet Water (Signet Eclipse)

I've been a fan of Anna Jeffrey's since The Love of a Cowboy showed up in my mailbox over 3 years ago. She has a way of combining romance and women's fiction--that is, romance, but with serious undertones--that really grabs me. Sweet Water is the kind of story I expect from Anna Jeffrey. Marisa Rutherford has come home to take care of her mother, who has Alzheimer's, and finds herself in charge of not only her mother and her small diner, but of the entire group of misfits who call the tiny West Texas town of Agua Dulce home. The town's already-shaky stability is threatened, however, when it's sold on ebay. Seems one man owned most of the town, and after his death, his widow took the easiest solution. Now everyone's coming to Marisa for help. Terry Ledger is a real estate speculator, and he knows he's taking a risk by buying the town, but it's a risk that will pay off big, if everything goes well. All he has to do is deal with one woman, and everyone else will fall in line. The trouble is, she's an awfully hard woman to resist. Sweet Water is full of realism--the inhabitants of Agua Dulce are eccentric, to say the least, but they're the kind of people who would cluster together in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. One example--they're realistically poor. None of this faux-poverty you see all the time in books or on TV--people who are "poor" but can manage to spring for designer shoes or last-minute flights or who have a secret stash of priceless heirlooms they just can't bear to sell. These people are making ends meet, but those ends are awfully frayed. They're also realistic in their eccentricity, not caricatures or "types." And their relationships are likewise realistic. Marisa herself had been having an unstructured relationship with a state trooper...until he tells her he's getting married to someone else...the same day that Terry Ledger shows up in town. Marisa and Terry are an unlikely couple, and they have a long way to go to make a relationship work, and that, too, is handled realistically. There's no whirlwind romance here. There's attraction and mistrust and growing respect and setbacks and compromises. It's definitely a love story I could believe. Now to go look for Salvation, Texas. I expect to enjoy that one, too.

Oh my gosh, I couldn't put this book down. The characters are lively and the plot is outstanding. The S-E-X is steamy, and very real. The romance is touching and the leading man turns out to be a real prince charming. The book has substance and is well worth reading. You won't be sorry.

Anna Jeffrey can spin a yarn. More importantly, she can make you care about her characters. Marisa, a young woman who is caring for her mother with Alzheimer's, is seemingly stuck in a small West Texas town full of misfits and oddities. A real estate developer buys the little town on EBay with the idea of turning it into an upscale waystation for travelers. He's looking for one more way to make money. What he finds is love and compassion and honor. Jeffrey touches my emotions like few other authors do. Marisa's mother is my mother, struggling with the ravages of a terrible disease. Her friends and relatives (unfortunately) act like my friends and relatives. This is a wonderful read full of real people. Don't miss it.

This book requires lots of time because you just can't put it down. Marisa and her crazy neighbors have their lives turned upside down when their little town is sold on EBAY. What will happen to Peacos Belle's? What about the martian landing pad? What was Terry Ledger thinking when he bought a Texas town on EBAY? What was he going to do with the residents? What was he going to do about the budding romance that could cause him to sabotage his own big plans? These questions were answered in a fun, full of life, emotional rollercoaster of emotions that is Sweet Water. This book like Anna Jeffrey's others is full of vivid full color writing. I find myself smelling the coffee brewing and feeling a part of the action. Now that I have fallen in love with all of these characters and I do mean characters,I need to know what happens next... Sequil PLEASE!

I loved this book! I admire anyone who can care for their ailing relatives and maintain their sanity. The interaction of the hero and heroine was great! I totally love the idea of selling a town on eBay--they sell everything else. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a laugh and a tear.