In The Southern Charmer, Janice Maynard returns readers to Blossom Branch, Ga., a charming small town where the hope of romantic second chances blooms.
Gabriella "Gabby" Nolan, a single, hardworking, 27-year-old accountant, hasn't had an easy life. Her mother was 16 and unmarried when Gabby was born. The closeknit pair always struggled to fend for themselves and to find a way out of poverty. While working in Atlanta, Gabby runs into handsome photographer Jason Brightman, an old crush from her hometown who left Gabby's best friend at the altar 18 months earlier. The meeting resurrects feelings from the past secretly rooted deep in Gabby's heart--and in Jason's, too.
Jason comes from a well-to-do family and always appeared to Gabby to be spoiled, someone who took all the sophisticated privileges of his life for granted. After the two share a car ride back to Blossom Branch, romance sparks. Gabby's emotions vacillate and she is forced to reassess her impressions of Jason's selfishness in the face of the vulnerable, caring goodness he's exhibiting now. Can she trust him?
As in Maynard's other novels in this tender, heartwarming series (The Runaway Bride of Blossom Branch; One Sweet Southern Summer), stereotypically stifling small-town living enlarges the worlds of her well-drawn characters. The love story in this endearing installment will greatly appeal to those already familiar with Blossom Branch and will win over new readers as well. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines