Amber in Autumn: Seasons of Destiny: A Sweet and Small Town Romance Series Book 3

Amber Reyes loves her job as principal of the elementary school in her hometown of Destiny, California. She dreams of a family of her own, and her only wish is that the town wasn’t so lacking in the eligible male department! Max Burnett is hoping a fresh start in his old hometown will provide his grief-stricken six-year-old twins, Kate and Will, a chance to move past the loss of their mother. When Amber and Max first meet, sparks fly and opinions clash, but when Amber takes up the challenge of helping the grieving children, they find that love can heal wounds of the past — but only if they can survive the turmoil of young anguish and old hurts.

A surprising contemporary read, “Amber in Autumn” picks up right after the previous book in this series and takes a hard look at the grieving process of children. The plot is divided between showing the steps of the children’s grief recovery, as well as that of Max himself, in contrast to the romance between Amber and Max. As the romance is the secondary plot, most of the emotions are focused on the grieving, making the relationship between Amber and Max slightly underdeveloped and slowly paced. Still, the story does an excellent job of examining the children’s grief and how Amber and Max help them through it. The minor conflict outside the grief keeps the story moving and overall, the reader will find themselves pleasantly satisfied by the ending. 

Sarah E Bradley