Great follow-up - LOVE Destiny!: (2010-08-27) 
This was an excellent follow-up to One Reckless Summer. I am hooked on this series and I can't wait for the next one to come out. This author has also quickly become one of my favorites.

Sugar Creek is the story of Rachel Farris, who was referenced breifly in the first book. Rachel was born and raised in Destiny but left after high school to go build a life for herself away from her small-town roots. She lives in Chicago and has a successful career in Advertising/PR. She comes home to Destiny for a couple weeks in late summer to help her gradmother with the apple harvest at the Farris Family Orchard. She runs into local town Cop and hottie Mike Romo, which makes for some tension since there is a generations-old rift between the Farris and the Romo Families. Mike and Rachel get hot and heavy pretty quick and Rachel turns to answers from her Grandma on what this family feud is really all about.

Great story, great characters, and I loved the idyllic small town America setting. The Grandma storyline was awesome and I loved how it tied in. Nice romance, well told, keeps you going until the end.

Good Book, but...: (2010-08-17) 
I really enjoy Blake's books, but the italic wording to get her point accross is just over the top and quite annoying.
The story was just ok, she has written much better.
I will keep reading her books because I enjoy them, but this one was just ok.

Homecoming: (2010-08-08) 
There's something about this book that lifted it above the sum of its parts and meant that I enjoyed more than I expected. I can't quite put my finger on what I liked - it wasn't particularly either the hero or heroine - but perhaps it's more down to the overall idea, that a career woman can return to her dusty hometown in Ohio and rediscover what's good about small-town life.

Part of what's good is the local Policeman Mike Romo, although initially things aren't promising. It doesn't help that there's a family feud between the Romos and the Farris family, so when Rachel Farris first meets Mike Romo she's not inclined to like him. However a physical attraction soon turns into something more and she starts to rediscover a different world, one in which she just might want to live.

What was unusual about this book was that there was no 'baddie' as such and not even any great misunderstanding between hero and heroine. It was all quite gently written with the characters slowly learning about each other and re-evaluating their priorities and past mistakes. There was plenty of sex in this book - perhaps a bit more than necessary - and this is part of my problem with both characters, who seem fairly egocentric. I also wasn't too keen on the fact that a sign of Mike's mellowing was that he was now able to break the law and to let Rachel off when she was speeding - I felt this rather diminished his 'good guy' status if he could do favours for his lover and he himself ignored some of his principles.

Still, this book was a good read and its gentle pacing make it right for a quiet day.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2010

Sugar Creek: (2010-07-20) 
Rachel Farris reluctantly left life in the fast lanes of Chicago to come home to Destiny, Ohio and help her grandmother with their family's apple orchard. Rachel gets pulled over by Mike Romo, Destiny's hunky lawman, as she barely crosses the town line. The Romos and the Farris' are long-time enemies, but that doesn't stop the instant attraction Mike and Rachel have for each other. Even when Rachel realizes that she might want more from Mike than just sex. Neither of them are looking for more than sex, though. Rachel is determined to leave town. She may leave her heart behind when she goes.

Sugar Creek is a story about two families connected by happiness as well as tragedy. Rachel and Mike carry the burdens and the comforts that have transcended generations of Romos and Farris'. The air is thick with romance and tradition in Destiny. Rachel has dreams that don't include the town or Mike, but as time goes by, she feels a connection to him she's never felt with anyone else before. Mike is less determined not to succumb to his feelings for Rachel, but he follows her lead. Rachel's grandmother Edna is one among several strong secondary characters who have their own endearing story to tell in Sugar Creek. The anguish Mike feels over losing his sister haunts him. He feels he couldn't protect her, so he tries to protect everyone else now. While Rachel says she's not a small town girl, she feels complete in Destiny picking apples and helping at donkey ball games. With characters as opposite as Rachel and Mike, there has to be something besides physical attraction bringing them together. As their story progresses you can see and feel what it is. Sugar Creek's series title, Destiny, is very fitting for its stories without being blatantly obvious. The romance is magical, highly sensual, and intense. Rachel and Mike find love when and where they least expect to in Sugar Creek.


Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

A fun and sexy read.: (2010-07-12) 
Toni Blake takes us back to Destiny, Ohio in her latest novel Sugar Creek.

Rachel Farris returns home to help her beloved Grandma Edna with the families apple orchard. She had planned on a just staying long enough to get Edna through the harvest and then head back to her job in Chicago. But Rachel barely hits Destiny's city limits when she runs afoul of the law. Its only Cop Mike Romo whose family has been feuding with Rachel's as long as any one can remember. Seems the Romo's believe the Farris's stole the land the apple orchard now sits. Rachel upon learning Mike has offered to buy the orchard will do everything in her power to not let that happen.

Cop Mike Romo takes his job as the law in Destiny very seriously. He has no usage for speeders no matter how sexy they may be. Mike feels that the orchard should be back in his family and he offers a fair price for it. He can't seem to get Rachel Farris on his side. They seem to goat each other every time they see each other. That is until they give in to their attraction one night when they get locked in together.

Rachel and Mike both go into this affair with both their eyes wide open. Rachel is only in town for a short spell and Mike is no big city guy. But once the initial barbs fade away they both realize that they may have something worth fighting for in Destiny. Their newfound love will be put to the test when Rachel's long await promotion back in Chicago finally comes though. Can they come to some understanding and back this love work?

Sugar Creek is a sexy, funny read. Mike and Rachel's banter is snappy and delightful. You find yourself laughing right along with them. Their sexual chemistry is smoking hot and tantalizing. Toni Blake makes small town living fun and exciting. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.