First impressions are not always correct. Alex first met Kerry when they were on opposite sides of the courtroom. Alex was a cop testifying in a court case& Kerry was defending the suspect. Alex thought she was a cold, power hungry witch. What are the chances she moved home to the same small town he's moved to? He's now on the town police force of the little town & she's in town going into practice with her brother. Could they learn to get along? The town will ever be the same!

Heather Heyford has written a fresh heartwarming story about two people fighting love with all of the weary disdain they had. They both were becoming tired & jaded and as such, made changes in their lives. The kids added a richness & dimension that elevated the story. Kerry's daughters had the readers picturing another side of her. The two delinquents that Alex befriended stole my heart. Their situation arouses the readers sympathy & keeps you reading to the end. The courtship had such twists & turns, you couldn't help but hope they were able to become a couple. ( )

First Comes Love by Heather Heyford
Willamette Valley #2

~ Sigh ~ such a great story ~ one that I could not put down and was so happy reading ~

Alex Walker, police detective, is so much than the gruff exterior that he presents to others. He is a man who had a rough childhood but never really stopped caring about doing good things for others. When he moves to Newberry his plan is to settle in, relax, take it easier and write a wine blog in wine country while working on the local police force until he retires. He doesn’t expect to run into the woman that has occupied a significant portion of his rather negative memories over the years – a woman that began to put him off of working in the big city and dealing with cutthroat lawyers. And who is that cutthroat lawyer? She is single mother of three daughters - Kerry O’Hearn. She grew up in Newberry and has returned to the quieter life she remembers and has put her big law practice behind her to provide a different life for her girls. She has her family nearby for support though she is determined to be self-sufficient no matter what.

This small town romance was not all light and bright but did have a happy ending in spite of dealing with some big issues. I loved the way Alex began to wake up to the possibilities that his life might be able to encompass more than the rather lonely future he had envisioned for himself. I found the relationship between Alex and Kerry believable and filled with so much potential. I loved the boxing aspect of the story that suggested it as a way to improve health and increase self-esteem for youth. The balance of this story was just right for me on the day I read it and I was sad to say goodbye when I read the last page at 1:30am. I am definitely eager to see who will have their story told next in this series! And, though I could give details of the story, I won’t. I will say that I highly recommend it, though, and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did if you choose to read it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books – Lyrical Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )