At Hidden Falls by Barbara Freethy ~ review

Product Description


Mysterious dreams draw costume designer Isabella Silviera to Angel’s Bay, the California coastal town where angels occasionally dance above the waves. Bestselling author Barbara Freethy enchants again in this emotional and compelling tale of family secrets, abiding friendships, and heart-touching romance.Isabella’s drive to Angel’s Bay would have ended in tragedy when her car slid off a cliff if she hadn’t been rescued by Nick Hartley. As he helps her to safety, she realizes he is the man who has haunted her dreams. Nick, however, is committed to reconnecting with his estranged teenage daughter, refusing to respond to his powerful attraction to Isabella. And Isabella’s police chief brother has his hands full with a missing mother, an abandoned baby, and an unknown father. What is Isabella’s role in the mysteries—both past and present— that swirl around the town?When she starts helping at the Hartley family theater, all the pieces begin to link together. Loves found and lost, heartbreak and happiness, courage and betrayal are all part of the patchwork quilt of the community—and of life. Isabella’s gift is seeing the patterns. . . .
 
My take on this book;
Isabella Silveira has what some call sixth sense. She has the ability to see visions, often a forewarning of things that might happen in the future, but sometimes its snippets from the past. When her brother Nick sends her a necklace that he found in his uncle's house in Angel's Bay she starts having dreams of a shadowy figure,and it seems the person is in danger. She thinks it might be her brother Joe she is seeing because he has recently divorced, and moved permanently to Angel Bay after he inherited their uncle's house, and took the job of chief of police in the tiny town. The premonition has her so worried that she decides to visit him. While on her way there she is run off the road, and is rescued by Nick Hartley. As soon as she sees Nick she realizes he is the person she has been having visions of, not her brother.
Nick is struggling to find common ground with his 15 year old daughter Megan, who has come back into his life after her mother decides she wants to remarry and doesn't want Megan around. The last thing he wants is a relationship with Isabella, but something about her draws him to her, but how will he feel when she tells him about her visions, and why would she sense that he is in danger?
I loved the small town feel of this story, a town where people go planning on staying a few weeks and wind up being permanent residents.
There were plenty of things happening to keep it interesting such as  the mystery of what happened to Annie, and why she would abandon her baby, or did she? The relationship between Charlotte and Joe is interesting, and I wonder how it will work out since Andrew seems intent on dating Charlotte. The author does an amazing job of pulling you into the lives of the characters immediately, and while the main storyline is interesting the secondary stories are just as important! I think one of my favorite characters was Megan, she was looking for a place to belong, and by the end of the story I got the feeling her relationship with her dad would work out!

While this book is a part of the Angel Bay series it can easily be read as a stand alone work. I haven't read any of the other books but had no problem jumping right into this story. The author whets our appetites by giving us a sneak peek at the next book in the series, which really starts off with a bang!
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the eye appealing cover on this book, it drew me right in, so sometimes you can judge a book by its cover!
If  your a fan of contemporary romance, with a bit of mystery and  drama, that will keep  you turning the pages to see where the story is going then this book is definitely for you. I for one can't wait to take my next visit to Angel's Bay!

About the author:Barbara Freethy is an award-winning, best-selling author of 27 novels. Her next book, AT HIDDEN FALLS, will be released on January 25, 2011. AT HIDDEN FALLS is book 4 in her best-selling Angel's Bay Series. The first three books, SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER, ON SHADOW BEACH and IN SHELTER COVE are currently available! Book 5 will be released in the fall of 2011.
The new books are set in Angel's Bay, a fictional town on the California coast with an intriguing history that involves a shipwreck, gold rush treasure, angels, and a fascinating story quilt that adds background color to each new story in the series. While the books are connected, each book stands on its own and readers will enjoy these romantic and emotionally compelling stories.
Some of Barbara's out of print backlist has recently been released for the first time on the Kindle. Check out SUMMER SECRETS, JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, and ALMOST HOME. More books will be coming in 2011.
Barbara's 27 books range from romantic suspense to single title contemporary, women's fiction, and category romance. She is well-known for her deeply rich, emotionally compelling and fast paced stories. She is a four-time RITA finalist for Best Single Title Contemporary from Romance Writers' of America and won the RITA for her novel, DANIEL'S GIFT. Her book, TAKEN, won the National Readers' Choice Award, and SILENT FALL is a finalist in this year's National Readers' Choice competition. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists including Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble and USA Today.


Barbara's love of writing developed out of a love of reading. Growing up in an all-boy neighborhood, she spent quite a bit of time reading through her mother's large library, many of which were romantic novels. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara, she went into Public Relations, but soon discovered that writing was her true passion. Her first book, PROMISE OF MARRIAGE, was sold to Silhouette under the pen name, Kristina Logan. She went on to write a total of seven books for Silhouette, and then began writing longer, more emotionally complex stories to launch Avon's Single Title Contemporary Program, which began with DANIEL'S GIFT, written under her real name, Barbara Freethy.

Barbara is currently writing for Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster, and is thrilled to be starting a new series. To read excerpts, enter contests and get more info on Barbara's books, check out her website at http://www.barbarafreethy.com/
** Readers should know that the titles THE CUZZIAN HORSE and PATRICK MICHAEL O'REILLY'S 13TH SUMMER, which often appear mixed in with Barbara's titles, are written by a different author with the name of Barbara Freethy.