Edgewater Road

 Title: Edgewater Road

Series: The Rumors in Ross County #1

Author: Shelley Shepard Gray

Publisher: Blackstone

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Romance

Source: Author Provided

My review:

Edgewater Road is unlike any book I have read by Shelley Shepard Gray. Her typical genre is Amish Christian romance, so this one took me by surprise. This is the first book in The Rumors in Ross County series a contemporary fiction romance.

Edgewater Road is well-written, and I enjoyed the story line. It is different from any story that I have read.  There are quite a few interesting characters, but I had a hard time connecting with any of them. I think Jennifer is way too naive, and Lincoln is a conundrum. I loved Lincoln's job of rehabilitating ex-cons and Jennifer's growth and care toward her neighbors. I appreciated the message that our past does not define our future. We don't have to be stuck in the pattern of making the same mistakes over again (and in this case, end up back in jail).

There were a few things that were off-putting to me. First, when Jennifer and Lincoln (John?) meet, his name is super confusing, with alternating between his first and middle name in the first few pages. Second, his calling Jennifer "babe" and "sweetheart" gave me creepy vibes as they had literally just met. Third, this book is geared toward a more secular market, which is fine, but it was not what I was anticipating from this author. Fourth, the minor curse words and drinking (again because it was not what I expected of this author).

Overall, this is an intriguing read. There is a lot going on, with a few surprises along the way, and lots secrets. I am interested to see where this series goes next.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher, and the author, for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★★★/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

When Jennifer Smiley’s grandmother, Ginny, leaves her an old farmhouse on Edgewater Road in seemingly quiet Ross County, Ohio, Jennifer can’t pass up the opportunity for a new beginning. Almost immediately she meets a group of men who generously help her move in. When she realizes that they work for Lincoln Bennett, her next-door neighbor, she’s intrigued. Lincoln is gorgeous and has dark, lapis-blue eyes she could get lost in . . . but he doesn’t seem all that friendly. She’s torn between getting to know him and sticking with the solitude she knows so well. Maybe she could let down some of those walls she’s built around her emotions?

Lincoln Bennett likes to keep his head down and get his work done. He’s been to prison and he knows that a lot of folks don’t take kindly to a man with that kind of history. Plus, he’s busy helping other ex-cons get back on their feet. But when he meets Jennifer, he can’t help but feel an instant attraction. Will she be able to look past his unsavory history? Will she be able to accept the men he’s working so hard to help?

While Jennifer gets to know Lincoln and his friends, she also begins to unravel her grandmother’s story, putting together the pieces from scraps of memories and things she finds in her new home. She soon discovers that Ginny Smiley harbored some dark secrets on Edgewater Road—and that those secrets include both Lincoln and her own absent father. Is learning the truth worth the heartache it could bring?

As the weeks pass and she and Lincoln become closer, Jennifer learns there is a lot to uncover in Ross County—wonderful friendships, darling towns … and more than one secret that might be better left buried.