Review

Lark Chaikin has come to Last Chance because of her father’s dying wish. Unearthing secrets from over 40 years ago wasn’t the plan. Chief Stone Rhodes has orders to run Lark out of town, except he can’t bring himself to do it when she seems to unleash all sorts of emotions he hasn’t felt in years. Normally he’d be running away from those feelings, but what she’s doing feels right.

This book was amazing. About halfway through I stopped just to find out what other stories Ramsey has written, and to briefly ponder why I haven’t read her books before. Ramsey creates characters that are flawed, damaged, and desperately needing to find their way. I loved all of them. These lovely folks filled with Southern charm, food, and gossip were such fun to get to know. I enjoyed the small town feel and the knowledge that anything happening in one area of town would quickly find its way into every nook and cranny until everyone knew what was happening.

Both hero and heroine are tortured. Lark is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. She watched her mentor get killed and has seen too many horrific things in her career to not be affected by them. This journey to bury her father is a journey of healing and someone Chief Stone becomes a part of it. I love when she sees him and becomes like a lodestar for her:

She couldn’t find the courage to depress the shutter button. She stood frozen for the longest time, remembering Jeb Smith’s last moments in Misurata. She might have stood there for an eternity, except that a whisper of a sound drew her attention up the river to the fishing pier.

Chief Rhodes, dressed in uniform, stood there casting a fishing line. She watched for a long moment, losing her fear in the rhythm of his casts… she closed the distance quietly, so as not to disturb him or let him know she was there. She raised her camera and framed him. She waited for the feat, but it didn’t come… Lark squeezed the shutter. The camera made a noise.

The art of the story is not just the characters, but the words and how they were placed together. This story spoke to me on so many levels about faith, strength, courage, and choices. I couldn’t put it down even when I really needed to. One other moment that made me love this story is how Chief Stone truly believes he’s already had the love of his life that another one doesn’t exist. When he mentions this to the matchmaker of the town she has a different message for Stone:

“Of course you should be looking for a crusader. Didn’t I tell you that years ago?”

There’s a couple of subplots that run concurrent with the main hero and heroine’s story, but they don’t take away from the romance. In fact I felt more involved with the story because of the subplots, which is unusual for me. I typically just want a main H/H story, and would have liked just a few more scenes with Lark and Chief Stone. I think the length of the subplot scenes was a bit more than I expected. Overall this is a sweet book that everyone will enjoy, and if you’re looking for a good Christmas story with a few angels then Last Chance Christmas is a must read.

For fans of Susan Wigg.