The plotting on this was a little uneven, the end dragged on after the couple had figured their stuff out. Still, a solid enemies-to-lovers story with some generational saga thrown in. It felt a little like Dynasty, in a good way!

I also really liked both the hero and the heroine. ( )

Using romance clichés and often-stilted language, Hodges pits two small-town African American adversaries against each other over a family farm. Organic farmer and community do-gooder Crystal Hughes is threatened by scion Douglas Wellington III when his development company wants to buy her land to build a business park. Since Hughes Farm was the first African American land owned in the county and now suppports a house for wayward girls, Crystal refuses to sell it. Douglas, pressured on the one hand by a gung-ho board of directors and on the other by his godfather, is adamant about building there. In between is their instant attraction to each other, which forces long-held grudges and long-buried family history to emerge as others get wind of Crystal and Douglas’ growing love. Plagued by anomalies and inconsistencies, this romance will frustrate readers. — Pat Henshaw ( )