My Recommendation: Five Days in Skye by Carla Laureano

What It's About:
Andrea Sullivan is so consumed by her hospitality consultant job that she’s forgotten what brings her life. She travels the world yet shields herself from the exotic locales or another chance at love. She dreads her new assignment—a last chance to snag a high-profile client in Scotland. Yet the lush Isle of Skye transcends her preconceptions. As does the man she came to interview—the rugged, blue-eyed Scotsman James McDonald.

James is passionate about cooking but after six restaurants, four cookbooks, and his own television show, he has no desire to be a celebrity chef. Andrea and James begin to sense these five days in Skye may just be God’s wild invitation into deeper life ... and truer love.

My Thoughts:
This is the first book I've read by Carla Laureano, but it won't be the last. I absolutely loved this one! The chemistry between Andrea and James was fantastic, and I loved the way they first met. My favorite part of this book was the fact that it took place over just five days. While that might seem fast for a romance, the author does such a great job growing the relationship between Andrea and James to a deep level, even in the short time they have together. I loved the reminder, too, of what's really important in life. This is the sort of book I'd enjoy reading over again!

My Recommendation: Like a Flower in Bloom by Siri Mitchell

What It's About:
It's all her uncle's fault. For years Charlotte Withersby has been free to pursue her love of plants and flowers by assisting her botanist father. But now that she's reached the old age of twenty-two, an intrusive uncle has convinced her father that Charlotte's future--the only proper future for a woman--is to be a wife and mother, not a scholar.

Her father is so dependent on her assistance that Charlotte believes he'll soon change his mind...and then Edward Trimble shows up. A long-time botany correspondent in the South Pacific, Trimble arrives ready to step in as assistant so that Charlotte can step out into proper society--a world that baffles her with its unwritten rules, inexplicable expectations, and confounding fashion.

Things aren't perfectly smooth between Trimble and her father, so Charlotte hatches a last gasp plan. She'll pretend such an interest in marriage that the thought of losing her will make her father welcome her back. Only things go quickly awry, and she realizes that the one man who recognizes her intelligence is also the person she's most angry with: Edward Trimble, her supposed rival. Suddenly juggling more suitors than she knows what to do with, Charlotte is caught in a trap of her own making. Will she have no choice but to leave her beloved flowers behind?


My Thoughts:
There was so much about this book that I loved! I loved Charlotte's character and her naivete for all things dealing with society. I loved that she simply said what she thought regardless of the "rules of etiquette." There were several times I laughed out loud! I loved the relationship between her and Edward. There were so many clever situations and poignant moments through the story, and I enjoyed learning about the world of a botanist. The secondary characters were equally as charming. This is humorous, historical romance at its best!