Susan's Review of Marry Me In Good Hope by Cindy Kirk

Of all the things Hadley Newhouse expected to find in Good Hope, love wasn’t on the list.

The baker extraordinaire has spent the last three years hiding her past and holding her breath. It isn’t that she likes being evasive. She just doesn’t want to open old wounds. Still, Hadley understands there’s a fine line between discretion and disaster, and she’s pretty sure agreeing to work for sexy single-father David Chapin leaps right over it.

David knows firsthand the havoc secrets can wreak. It was a secret that made his ex-wife walk out on their family, and now a secret elopement has cost him his daughter’s longtime nanny. When he learns that Bloom’s Bake Shop will temporarily close, leaving Hadley without work, he immediately offers her a job. He already knows his daughter adores Hadley, and after a few days with the beautiful baker, David realizes he does too.

Hadley has always believed that happily ever after was meant for other people, not for her. Yet when David paints a picture of a life with him and his daughter, Hadley begins to believe her dream really could come true. But before that can happen, she must come clean. David deserves to know what really brought Hadley to Good Hope—even if hearing it means he’ll want Hadley gone for good.

Hadley Newhouse has had a small but, significant role in each of the Good Hope novels. Hadley started working at Ami Bloom’s bakery in Christmas At Good Hope and she has assumed more responsibility at Blooms Bake shop with the birth of Ami’s baby. Cindy Kirk has sprinkled hints about Hadley in each book—the last two books contained BIG hints— I can honestly say this story was well worth the wait! I LOVED it!

Hadley volunteers at all of the town’s activities and is a well-liked member of the community. She works two jobs to support herself and lives above the bakery. Hadley doesn’t share a lot about her family or her past—just the basics. Two things about Hadley have intrigued me: her past and her interest in Brynn Chapin and her father David. Brynn adores Hadley and it didn’t surprise me when David offered Hadley a job as Brynn’s nanny while the bakery was being remodeled.

Hadley reveals to David that she is Brynn’s natural mother but, that’s not the only well-kept secret in the novel. David and his ex-wife Whitney were not honest during the adoption process. After DNA tests confirm that Hadley is Brynn’s mother, David reveals that his wife omitted an importance piece of medical history during the adoption process. This story technique worked as both characters needed to come to terms with the others actions and forgive each other before they could move forward. Where these decisions made in Brynn’s best interest?

I loved the very emotional scene when Hadley confesses that she is Brynn’s mother to the Bloom sisters. Each sister reacted differently to the news and Fin gave Hadley an important piece of advice. David’s mother, Lynn, does not react well to the news and believes Hadley is taking advantage of the situation.

Marry Me in Good Hope has all of the small town charm and warmth that I adore in this series. Both characters had secrets and they worked together to build an honest relationship. The chemistry between David and Hadley was off the charts and the couple’s sensuous romantic scenes were perfect! Cindy Kirk includes several tough issues in this novel; adoption, DNA testing, abuse and inherited medical conditions. She weaves these elements through the novel—and they add depth and authenticity to the story. Hadley and David’s journey toward happiness wasn’t easy but it ended PERFECTLY!

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the publisher

Cindy Kirk is a lifelong Nebraska resident who started writing after taking a class at a local community college. But her interest in the written word started years before when she was in her teens. At sixteen she wrote in her diary, “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t be a writer.”

Not until her daughter was heading off to college did Cindy return to her first love---writing. Unlike some writers, Cindy wasn’t interested in newspaper or magazine articles, short stories or poetry. When she decided to start writing, she jumped feet first into book length fiction. She loves reading and writing romance because she believes in the power of love and in happily ever after. An incurable romantic, Cindy loves seeing her characters grow and learn from their mistakes and, in the process, achieve a happy ending.

Someone once told Cindy that to know a writer you just have to read what she's written; she hopes that once you read her books you can tell she is an eternal optimist, one who truly believes in the power of love. She invites you to kick off your shoes, pick up one of her books and get to know her. Cindy and her high school sweetheart husband live on an acreage with two dogs and two cats—Oreo--a friendly feline who loves to sit next to the computer and supervise her writing and Leo, a white devil with a raccoon-like tail.