This is the second book in the Twilight, Texas, series, set in a mythical small town modeled on my home of Granbury.  In this reunion tale, Sam Cheek and Emma Parks, friends when they were 14, are the lovers.  Emma, then known as Trixie Lynn, lived in Twilight only one year with the man she thought was her distant father, only to learn he is her stepfather.  Her mother left the family long ago to pursue her dreams of stardom.  Trixie has stars in her eyes, too, and at 18 changes her name to Emma and moves to New York City to take up acting.

Twelve years later, down to her last penny and in trouble, she receives an invitation to do a play in Twilight.  Sam has become the town's veterinarian, and he is also a widower with an adopted son from his late wife's first marriage (that man also died).  Sam and Emma are still attracted to each other, but they hesitate to get involved, as they are very different (opposites attract) and Emma is not ready to give up her acting.

Emma is invited to join the local quilting club and help make quilts that will be the backdrops for the play she is performing in.  There are some heartfelt moments in this book as Emma unintentionally helps Charlie come out of his grief-induced silence, in part simply because of her resemblance to his late mother. Emma comes to terms with her own past too as she and Sam learn they complement each other.

I didn't like this book quite as much as the other two I've read in the series, partly because I think very few people meet their one true love at age 14 (so I couldn't relate), and partly because I found Emma to be a bit self-centered and not as likable as other heroines in this series.  However, I LOVED the hero, Steady Sam!  And of course the setting - this time, most of the events occur in the fall in Twilight, instead of spring or Christmastime.

On to the first book in the series...as you can see, you don't have to read the first four in order.

© Amanda Pape - 2014

[The e-book was borrowed from and returned to the public library. This review also appears on Bookin' It.] ( )