This was a lovely visit back to Fool's Gold. Abby Hendrix, daughter of Ethan and Liz (Sutton) Hendrix (Almost Perfect), and soon-to-be teacher, is spending the summer helping her sister Melissa with her wedding. She's taken aback when Melissa asks her to take her fiancé's brother under her wing when he comes to Fool's Gold three weeks before the wedding. Joaquin, a brilliant and busy surgeon, hasn't made it to any family gatherings, so no one has met him yet. All she knows is that he's scary smart, so she'll put him to work if she needs to.

Joaquin, who was in college by the time he was ten, never developed social skills the way others did. He focuses exclusively on his career and dismisses other peoples' lives as "mundane." When he loses a patient to her burns, he applies and is turned down for a fellowship program with Dr. Simon Bradley, who just happens to be Abby's uncle. At the story's beginning, Joaquin plans to use Abby to get to Simon and plead his case directly. Those plans go out the window when he meets Abby.

I enjoyed the first meeting between Joaquin and Abby. Neither looked forward to their forced companionship but planned to make the best of it. I had to laugh at Abby, who was utterly flummoxed by Joaquin's good looks and took a few minutes to get herself together. Even then, she babbled a bit before settling down. Likewise, Abby differed from what Joaquin expected. Her energy drew him right away, and he noticed her beauty in detail that was unusual for him. I loved seeing her give him a tour of the town and its history while he marveled at the fact that he didn't feel awkward talking to her.

I loved seeing the development of the relationship between Joaquin and Abby. Before he arrived, Abby asked her Uncle Simon how best to entertain Joaquin since they were so different. He pointed out that Joaquin wouldn't have had a normal childhood to show him her everyday life. So she did. They spent a lot of time together working on wedding stuff. Joaquin's enjoyed it far more than he expected and liked getting to know more about Abby. The more she learned about him, the more she ached for the things he missed in life. I loved the sweet scenes of the things they did together. Neither expected the attraction that grew between them. I loved how they looked at it practically, realizing that Joaquin would leave Fool's Gold after the wedding. However, neither could deny the feelings that grew between them, though they certainly tried. He's not into relationships, and she wants the whole marriage and family thing. But Joaquin has an ax hanging over his head and putting off dealing with it just makes it more difficult.

Shortly after he arrived, Abby introduced Joaquin to Simon when they had dinner together. Simon invited Joaquin to meet with him, where he confronted Joaquin about his reason for being in Fool's Gold so much before the wedding. Simon told Joaquin why he was turned down for the fellowship. He also asked if Abby knew the truth and advised Joaquin to tell her asap. He didn't want Abby hurt, and if Joaquin didn't tell her, Simon would do it himself. While Joaquin insisted he had no intention of hurting Abby, he also kept putting off his confession. As his feelings for her grew, so did his guilt. Simon ticked me off when he followed through on his threat after Joaquin didn't move fast enough for him. I ached for Abby and her feelings of betrayal, hurt, and anger. I also hurt for Joaquin, who realized too late how badly he screwed up.

It hurt to watch the two of them struggle with their feelings, and I kept my fingers crossed that they would find their way through it. I liked seeing Abby's Aunt Montana (Simon's wife) get involved, help Joaquin know the truth, and offer to help him win Abby back. Joaquin won my respect and admiration with his heartfelt apology and determination to show her how he changed. I liked that Abby made him work for her forgiveness but didn't draw it out too long. There was a nice twist involving Simon that helped move things along. I appreciated that both Joaquin and Abby didn't rush their relationship. The epilogue was fantastic and a perfect ending for the story. ( )

Oh how I've missed this series! Not a single book in the series that I don't adore. A fun, quick read with many visits from old friends from previous books. Not necessarily a must to have read the series first, it it might help you understand some of the relationships to each other. A heartwarming read with many fun characters and tons of heart. I absolutely LOVED revisiting Fool's Gold and it's many quirky residents!!! So much so that I think I'll do a marathon re-read of this gem of a series! ( )