Cole & Jillian (Pianos & Promises – #3)

Thanks to her recent divorce, Jillian is now free from her ex-husband and she vows to never have anything to do with singing cowboys again. Cole is one of those singing cowboys, but has his own demons. He is taking time off from his lucrative career to take care of his drinking problem. Fate has set the two of them side by side in first class on a plane. Jillian is a bundle of nerves every time she flies. Cole senses this and begins talking to her. After a while, Jillian impulsively kisses Cole. He vows to hunt her down when he is better. She thinks nothing of it, until he does. 

This is a sweet story of two damaged characters with lots of baggage, who are able to overcome the odds in order to come out ahead. Beck and Call are wonderful supporting characters with clever nicknames that have a beautiful secondary love story running alongside the primary one. The dialogue is well developed and easy going, making it easy to get to know and love the characters. There are several small editing issues but those are easily overlooked. A small detriment is that background story issues are rehashed throughout, which halts the progress of the plot, although several twists keep the story thought-provoking. This novel addresses alcoholism but doesn’t glorify or demonize it, just recognizes it as a social issue. It also stresses that fears can be faced and conquered. An interesting story, it goes at a nice pace and before one knows it, the novel is at its happily ever after.

Belinda Wilson