Title: Sleeping ’til Sunrise (Mangrove Stories #5)
Author Name & Publisher: Mary Calmes (Dreamspinner Press)
Publication Date & Length: December 16, 2015 – 90 pgs
Everyone in Mangrove, Florida, knows Fire Chief Essien Dodd is a saint. He took care of his ex-wife until she died, is raising his teenage daughter alone, and is the kind of man who pulls kittens from trees. All in all, the man’s a catch. But Roark Hammond has sworn off getting involved with a man who’s been hurt before because he can’t guarantee he won’t hurt his prospective love again. If only he could get Essien out of his mind long enough to focus on anyone, or anything, else.
Strong emotions are in play. Essien is lonely but determined to focus on Ivy; Ivy wants her father to have a new life so much that, to his horror, she’s trying to find him a man; and Roark is so scared of the present and past, he won’t allow himself to commit. To have any chance of sleeping ’til sunrise and greeting each new day together, Essien and Roark will have to rethink how they’re living their lives and focus on what’s most important.
This novella was just so good!
Essien is the fire chief of his town who he raises alone. He has been through a lot losing his Ex-wife who was close to his daughter and him. He also has a player reputation in his town to which makes Roark the doctor in their town want to run the other way, even though he is so attracted to him.
I have to say I loved Essien and Roark together. They were just so sweet together especially with the way Essien takes care of Rourke when Roark needs someone there for him. Plus the steam between these two men was just so damn hot in this book!
I loved the way this author wrote these characters and this story! Essiens protective caring personality and the way Rourke was shy but also caring too.
So I will leave this review with… I 100% loved this novella and would recommend it!
Kara
I loved this book. Though I have to say I thought it was too short, I wanted more. I wanted more about Roark’s law fight with his family and his health, also more on Ess’s backstory. But what we were given was perfect. My favorite line in the book was,
“My mother used to say that you needed to greet each and every new day so the Lord would always know you were thankful for the time you’d been given.” so beautiful!
Roark and Ess made the perfect couple both trying to be there for everyone, they had hearts as big as gold. This was the first book in the series I read but had no problem with not reading any others. But I find myself wanting to check out the rest of the books. If your looking for sweet love story this book is perfect.
Sherry
This is a gentle romance. Essian Dodd, Mangrove’s new fire chief has given up dating to focus on caring for his teenage daughter. Roark Hammond’s cancer diagnosis has made him wary of starting a relationship.
This is one of the later Mangrove stories and I love the growing sense of community in Florida’s most perfect small town. Readers get to catch up with favourite characters from earlier stories while we are given hints about stories yet to come.
In this story, Essian and Roark have great chemistry together. They are both a little stubborn and a little set in their ways. It takes an awful lot of prompting from Mangrove’s busybody matchmakers to get them together. I really enjoyed Essian’s daughter Ivy and her friendship with Hutch. Essian’s relationship with his daughter is also very sweet.
This is an uncomplicated, angst-free story. It was a perfect, easy airplane read. I was charmed once again by the idyllic small town and thoroughly enjoyed the romance.
Sarah
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Mary Calmes lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband and two children and loves all the seasons except summer. She graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Due to the fact that it is English lit and not English grammar, do not ask her to point out a clause for you, as it will so not happen. She loves writing, becoming immersed in the process, and falling into the work. She can even tell you what her characters smell like. She loves buying books and going to conventions to meet her fans.
