So In Love (Ribbon Ridge: Love On the Vine) by Darcy Burke  
The appeal of a Darcy Burke novel is that whether historical or contemporary, her target is always the heart. The connection between author, reader and story is paramount and she never misses her mark. So In Love is a mixture of romance, drama and mystery. Modern day romance gets a hand from a little fictional history. With a few familiar faces along to guide the way, Crystal and Jamie discover the importance of love and sacrifice. If it's relatable and emotional, Ms. Burke surely has done something right. ( )

So in Love had a really strong start--I loved the cutthroat pool game with the cursed cue (or is it???), the flirtiness, and their New Year's Eve hookup. Jamie and Crystal were cute together, her fears about their age difference (she's 5 years older) aside. From there, though, the story felt like it floundered a bit--much of the drama (relationship and otherwise) felt a bit contrived and overblown--would a mature, adult woman really literally run from a social event just because a few people there become confrontational? And then immediately grab a flight out of state, days earlier than she had planned on leaving? I'm not entirely convinced. Still, everything came together nicely at the end, and the epilogue was very sweet.

If you've read the others in the trilogy, you'll undoubtedly want to read this one as well; if you're new to the series there are some mild spoilers here to the historical mystery the heroines are trying to solve together. It's a secondary plot, but if continuity is important to you, you'll probably want to read the books in order ( So Good first, then So Right , and then this one). Final verdict: a cute story, but not on the same level as Ms. Burke's The Untouchables (historical romance) series.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )