Heartwishes

Graduate student Gemma Ranford has stiff competition for her dream job in Edilean, Virginia, where Mrs. Frazier has acquired family documents going all the way back to the 1600s. Luckily, Mrs. Frazier selects Gemma with the approval of her eldest son, Colin, the town sheriff. Delving into the archive, Gemma discovers a legend involving the mysterious Heartwishes Stone. According to the family papers, the stone, if located, will grant the heartfelt wishes of any Frazier. What Mrs. Frazier desperately wants are grandchildren, while Colin wants true love. Gemma wishes to belong. Searching for the stone brings Colin and Gemma together as Deveraux continues her Edilean series, casting her trademark romance spell in a tale populated with alluring and likable characters.--Engelmann, Patty Copyright 2010 Booklist

A graduate student comes to Edilean, Va., for a job, but finds herself on the rocky road to love in Deveraux's new blend of modern romance and historical fiction. Alea Frazier hires Gemma Ranford to organize the family papers with the hope that the young woman might also convince Colin, the 27-year-old town sheriff and eldest Frazier son, to drop his on-again/off-again girlfriend and finally get serious. Small, blonde, smart, and brave, Gemma fits right in with the Fraziers and their idyllic community, earning early notoriety by stripping to a tank-top to help Colin rescue a boy from a tree, a scene that becomes a minor YouTube hit. A long-lost family heirloom, the Heartwishes Stone (purported to grant family members whatever they wish), finds Gemma drawn even more deeply to the Fraziers; Colin wants true love and his mother wants grandchildren, so Gemma seems destined for happiness. But misunderstandings abound, and a charming international thief and Colin's soon-to-be-ex, an ambitious lawyer, threaten the Frazier matriarch's hopes , the Fraziers themselves, and even the town. This latest in the Edilean series spends plenty of time in the modern world, and gleefully plugs plot holes with humorous academic rivalries and cheerful family chaos. Deveraux (The Scent of Jasmine) keeps the tone light and the plot moving, pausing only to take an occasional wistful look back. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

When doctoral student Gemma Ranford wins the coveted temporary job of cataloging the Frazier family's papers, she hopes to find finally a worthy dissertation topic. Her research quickly reveals mentions of the Heartwishes Stone, which is rumored to grant wishes to Frazier family members. But genealogy is just one part of the story; there's also suspense and romance. A rash of jewelry thefts is unusual in the normally low-crime town of Edilean, VA, and Gemma quickly stirs up local gossip when she is seen repeatedly with Sheriff Colin Frazier, who has a big-city girlfriend, and Dr. Tristan Aldredge, who still hasn't found his soul mate. Verdict Best-selling author Deveraux (Scarlet Nights) has written an enchanting contemporary romance with engaging, well-developed characters and story lines. The author's knack for surprising plot twists and her ability to write a series title that can be read as a stand-alone are notable. Her many fans will be reluctant to put down this perfectly paced novel. [See Prepub Alert, 6/13/11.]-Samantha J. Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.