I have to start out by saying that I buy Nora Roberts' books on her name alone. I have seldom been disappointed in any of her stories. This was another wonderful, feel-good romance with well-drawn characters and strong, loving families.The Montgomery family is restoring an old inn in Boonsboro. The family consists of a widowed mother and three grown sons. You can easily see that they love and support each other even while the brothers pick at each other and teases. This romance stars Beckett who is the architect in the family but who also doesn't mind turning his hand to any carpentry tasks or other needed tasks in the inn restoration project. The heroine of this story is Clare Brewster. She is back home in Boonsboro with her three young sons after the death of her husband in Iraq. They were childhood sweethearts and had a strong loving marriage. Now that she is home, she has started a bookstore and has made a new life for herself and her sons.Beckett has loved her since she was sixteen but has settled for a friendship until now. This story explores their growing relationship as they learn to adjust and trust each other. It was fun to see Beckett interacting with Clare's three sons and see him fitting himself into their lives. Clare is the one who is most reluctant to be in the relationship at first. After all, she has already had a wonderful relationship and had her heart broken when she lost her husband.I did like that Clare was not a passive heroine. When she decides to commit to the relationship with Beckett, she is the one who puts the moves on him. He wants to take it slow and ease her into the relationship but isn't at all reluctant when Clare wants to move faster. But everything can't go smoothly. Clare has also drawn the attention of a former schoolmate who has developed an unhealthy obsession with her and has begun stalking her. Clare just thinks that he is an annoying person who is really hard to discourage but the stalking episodes quickly escalate.The story also features Beckett's two brothers - Owen and Ryder and Clare's best friends Avery and Hope leading the way for the romances in the next books in this trilogy. What I really like about Roberts' books is that her heroines are real adult women. Clare owns a bookstore; Avery owns and operates a restaurant; and Hope is experienced in running hotels. None of them are looking for a man to make their lives better. They have perfectly good lives already. Nor are her heroes rich men of leisure. They may be comfortably well-off but they are all hard-working.I really enjoyed this story and will certainly be following along with the rest of the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy.
