the next always

the next always
the inn boonsboro trilogy #1
nora roberts
romance
berkley trade
published 2011

The historic hotel in BoonsBoro has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it's getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett's social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there's another project he's got his eye on: the girl he's been waiting to kiss since he was sixteen.
 
After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster soon settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town's bookstore. Though, busy and with little time for romance, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett's transformation of the old inn, wanting to take a closer look ...at the building and the man behind it.
 
With the grand opening inching closer, Beckett's happy to give Clare a private tour - one room at a time, in between blueprint meetings and kindergarten pickups. It's no first date, but these stolen moments are the beginning of something that could arouse the secret yearning that resides in Clare's independent heart--and open the door to the extraordinary adventure of what comes next ...

I can always depend on Nora Roberts for a good read, especially with her trilogies.  I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  My favorite books of hers are always the trilogies because I can stay with the characters for a bit longer and it's more fun to watch their stories play out when they maybe would have ended earlier in their own books.

The Next Always has a bit of everything Roberts is good at.  A bit of suspense, a bit of thrill, a bit supernatural and a whole lot of romance.  You can help but smile while reading.  Clare is more realistic than characters in the past have been.  A military widow with three young boys, she's dealt with a lot.  Beckett is her usual hero with two brothers of his own.  This book mostly set the stage for the entire series.  We do get to follow Clare & Beckett down the rabbit hole of love, but we get background on the other four characters too.

And the best part about the book is that these places actually do exist!  The Inn BoonsBoro is a B&B that she and her husband renovated and run in Maryland and Vesta is a pizza restaurant run by her son, Turn the Page is her husband's bookstore.  Even Gifts Inn BoonsBoro is right where she describes in the book.  And the rooms are named after literary couples including Eve & Roarke.  I have to admit I got a little thrill when I read that part.

I've decided to spend this month reading one book at a time so I tore through this one in a couple of hours.  I'm off to the next.  Might as well finish out the trilogy tomorrow instead of dragging it out!