Nice story with some really sweet moments, and I like the writing style. I just didn't care for the setup for this story; widowed father of two meets free spirit, they have no strings encounter that turns into lots of strings, both make stupid choices, both have issues, and both try to deny the connection between them. I'm just not a fan of the whole dead wife scenario, or the no strings hookup scenario, or the being forced into each other's lives because of stupid choices scenario. Still a decent story, so I went with a 3 rating. I like the opposites attract scenario; Ethan and Willow have some decent chemistry. The characters are okay, but I didn't love them; some of their choices were not very great, but they have good hearts. I like Willow's quirkiness too. Overall, a good story that just wasn't quite for me.

Willow runs a bakery/café in Darling, Vermont and is an only child. She has built a life for herself after a childhood of a workaholic mother and no father. Ethan is a firefighter from a large Irish family and is dealing with the loss of his wife and trying to raise 2 boys by himself. Willow needs the love a large family can give and Ethan needs to learn to love again. They are both afraid to let themselves love. With the help of the family and the 2 boys, they learn it is possible.

I have not had a chance to read this book, Once I have gotten a chance to read it I will edit this review to reflect my thoughts and feeling on the book.

Miss Bates will always love Donna Alward’s categories, but her move to longer contemporaries offers readers uneven results: some books, reviewed here, have been great; others, so-so. But Alward’s depth and sensitivity will also see Miss Bates’s return to her books time and again. She did so with Alward’s second Darling, Vermont, contemporary romance, Someone To Love.

Willow Dunaway, owner of The Purple Pig Café, is Darling-born and raised. An unhappy childhood and adolescent trauma saw her leave Darling for years. Now she’s back with a new-found contentment in her business, yoga practice, and embracing of serenity. Willow has fought a long, hard battle to come back from some devastating experiences and the semi-colon tattoo on her forearm proves it to herself daily. She has found many things in her re-found hometown that she sought: friendship, community, and purpose. She does not, however, date … until she meets widowed single-dad and firefighter, Ethan Gallagher. In some delightful initial exchanges, Willow’s flower-child, vegetarian ways clash with Ethan’s carnivorous alpha-tendencies.

Ethan has also had his share of pain and heart-ache. Unlike romance’s conventional my-first-wife-turned-out-to-be-a-disappointment, Ethan married a woman he loved and was devoted to deeply, as devoted as he is to his work and sons, Connor and Ronan. With Ethan’s sister, Hannah, and sister-in-law, Laurel, as Willow’s two best friends, and Willow as the owner of one of the cuter breakfast-and-lunch-spots, their paths are bound to cross and cross they do with mutual contempt and sparring, but a spark of attraction also evident. Willow finds Ethan “cold” and “unapproachable,” thinks of him as “Stick-Up-His-Butt.” As she watches him with his sons and interacts with him and the boys, she realizes he’s also loving and kind, albeit in a grumpy way. Ethan’s “grumps”, however, come from grief, loss, and fear … and, in an interesting twist, from having his masculinity subsumed by his identity as a father. Willow may be a pain in the butt to his “Stick-Up-His-Butt,” but she’s also the first women, since his wife’s loss, to make him feel like a man.

All of this is well and good, except Ethan and Willow, as a couple, coming from such woundedness, are not always plausible. Alward treats this believably: with doubts, fears, and Ethan’s and Willow’s personal demons taking precedence over the romance. Miss Bates would say that the novel edges towards women’s fiction, if it were not for Ethan’s POV. Ethan and Willow are a case of opposites-attract, but it’s not cutesy: is that to Alward’s credit? Or a reader may find the novel distinctly unromantic. When Willow thinks, “They were too different. Too damaged. He had kids. She was a free spirit …,” she’s not off and it’s not one of those romances where the reader can say with conviction, “Ha ha, I can see they have more in common than not.” Um, no. They really are at cross-purposes. And sex doesn’t make things better, it makes them more complicated, as Ethan’s and Willow’s obstructive vulnerabilities come to the foreground.

In the novel’s second half, Willow’s seeming self-sufficiency and -regulation give way to needs to be loved and cared for. And Ethan as caretaker, for his sons and, for a long time, ill wife, gives way to a need to be free and take time and consideration before he commits. When these two desires clash, it’s pretty painful and Ethan behaves like an ass-y ignoramus and Willow, wilts. But Alward is a romance-writer stuck in a women’s fic universe and she works things out between them. Miss Bates, however, isn’t sure how convincing that is. It is convincing, however, when Someone To Love doesn’t end with a rainbow and wedding. And, true to her spinsterish, missbatesian ways, MissB does love a wedding and clear HEA. Will she still read the next in the series? Alward is too good a writer, too subtle, and too savvy about romance, for her not to. With Miss Austen, Miss Bates says of Donna Alward’s Someone To Love: “real comfort,” Emma.

Donna Alward’s Someone To Love is published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks. It was released in March and is available at your preferred vendors. Miss Bates received an e-ARC from St. Martin’s, via Netgalley.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book for me from author Donna Alward, and I loved every part of this gut wrenching story.

Willow and Ethan are both healing from emotional wounds that are very different in nature, yet both have huge walls around them that have limited their love lives in recent years. When they meet, its not an instant attraction - in fact, they really don't like each other much. For this reason, the story was captivating and I couldn't put this book down until the end. The author has built these characters, both great people with flaws and all, creating a the dynamic chemistry between the two main characters that has the reader wanting them to just be together and quick.

What starts out as a friendship, slowly and almost accidentally grows into something more. A something more that really frightens both Willow and Ethan, to the point that their pasts get in the way of their happiness. When an event happens (I won't give it away), it almost ruins them and their future. However, this vulnerability of Willow and Ethan makes these characters endearing and real. The real test is whether they can look past their previous pain and move forward, whether it be together or as a team.

I enjoyed this book so much, I am already reading others from the same series. This book will not disappoint.

I really enjoyed the book, it has everything I love in a novel from start to finish. I can’t wait to read what the author has planned next!

4.5⭐️

"I can't fix the whole world, Ethan. But maybe I can do something about my little corner of it. Imagine what would happen if we all did that? The world would be filled with happy little corners."

"...she liked to feel as if she'd balanced her inner perfectionist with acceptance and calm."

The main characters, Willow Dunaway, widower Ethan Gallagher and his two young sons, Connor and Ronan, are well developed and feel genuine and real. Ethan started out a bit prickly, guilty for needing help raising his boys and grieving for his former perfect life. In spite of secrets and flaws, these characters were loveable and would be easy to pick out in a park or any social setting.

I liked Ethan's musing about Willow, "She was a ray of sunshine that refused to go behind a cloud."

This story with its downs and ups and bumps like a roller coaster ride and even shed tears - frustration, sorrow, relief and happiness had me thoroughly engaged.

SOMEONE TO LOVE is # 2 in the DARLING, VT. SERIES by Donna Alward, but it can easily be read as a standalone book. I also enjoyed Somebody Like You #1 and look forward to reading Somebody's Baby the next novel in the series to be released.

Special thanks to Donna Alward, Justine Sha, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

~ I apologize to the publisher for using quotes from my ARC that may not necessarily be in the finished copy of the book.

Ethan Gallagher was from a loving family who lived in Darling, Vermont. He was a local firefighter who had two young sons that he was raising alone after the death of his wife, Lisa. Being a single dad was hard but he was tired of people walking on tiptoes around him and trying to tell him it would get easier.

Willow owned a small coffee/sandwich shop in Darling, called The Purple Pig. She was all about organic food and yoga. She was the complete opposite from Ethan but her best friends were Ethan's brother, Aiden's wife, Lauren, and his sister, Hannah. Willow offered to watch Ethan's boys to help out Hannah one day and became aware of the hurt that Ethan was exhibiting. She was patient with him and kind to his boys. As Ethan and Willow spent more time around each other, they began to open up to the kind of hurt and pain they had both felt in their lives. But, when difficulty comes, can they depend on each other for support or will loyalty and trust be the first things they abandon?

This is the second of this series that I have read by this author. I love her style and the story that she weaves. There was one f-bomb in the book and the sex scenes were mildly descriptive. Those would be my only real criticisms of the book.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ethan and Willow make a wonderful couple, once they get past first impressions. I really liked Ethan's sons too, and would have liked to have seen even more interaction with them. Overall another fun and easy read in this series. The only thing that rubbed me a bit was Ethan's attitude and anger over her "lies", which to me seemed a little harsh. I didn't like his character very much for awhile there, but of course there is a HEA. Highly recommend this book and author. Now I am starting the next one in the series. Good summer reads.

If you are a fan of classic category romance (Harlequin, Silhouette, etc.) or Hallmark movies, then Someone to Love is for you. Willow Dunaway moved back to her hometown of Darling, VT to start over. She fled Vermont after disastrous childhood with a neglectful single mother and has spent several years healing and reinventing herself in Florida. Now she is a self-proclaimed hippie with pink stripes in her hair who runs a café that features clean, organic, and sustainably grown food. To say she is something of an oddity to her neighbors is probably an understatement.

Ethan Gallagher is a gruff, brooding widower trying to raise two small boys on his own after losing his wife, and the love of his life, to cancer. Ethan is a firefighter from a large family and about as opposite from Willow as a man could possibly be. Willow is all about peace and harmony, and Ethan is not sure there will ever be peace and harmony in his life again. When they initially meet, Ethan and Willow get along about as well as oil and water. They are barely civil at best and often borderline antagonistic.

As fate would have it, Willow’s best friend is Ethan’s sister-in-law and his sister is her real estate agent, who is also rapidly becoming a good friend. As such, the two end up seeing far more of each other than they would like and somewhere along the line end up crossing the thin line between love and hate.

I’m a huge fan of sweet, category romance so I loved this book. I’m looking forward to reading more in the series. My only complaint was, at times, the pacing book seemed really slow. There were times when I thought it would take forever to get to the end. For all that it’s a classic of the genre, it’s a complicated emotional story, and I know that it takes a while to work out all those complications. At the same time, this one dragged at times and felt like it was taking just a bit too long to work them out. Even so, it’s a good story overall and one I would definitely recommend. Just be aware that if you are a fan of a really fast-paced story, this one isn’t it. It’s also not a particularly spicy or graphic story. To me, that’s a good thing as it fits the tone of the book, but I know not all readers like that. There is sex, but it tends to be very understated and not particularly graphic. Also, this book deals with the aftermath of both losing a spouse and having an abortion. If those are potential triggers for you, tread carefully.

I really enjoyed this story of Ethan and Willow. They were both great characters. Both had baggage and they needed one another in order to get past all of it. The storyline kept me engrossed, and I thought Darling, Vt. was a good setting. Great installment in the series!

I enjoyed this book. I liked how Ethan and Willow faced their fears. I did not like having to look up yoga poses. I liked the twist and turns of the story it has laughter and tears.

I would recommend this title

This contemporary romance got off to a solid start, but sadly, faltered around the midway point and never fully recovered. This just fell flat for me. I couldn't follow the story and found myself skimming along

Someone To Love
Darling, Vermont Series - Book 2

By Donna Alward
St. Martin's - March 2017
Contemporary Romance


Ethan Gallagher had thought he'd planned his whole life. Career he loved, wife he loved even more, and children. Then the unimaginable had happened, and he had lost his love. His children their mother. It might have been a couple years, but he still mourned her loss, and he struggled as a single father. Thankfully, he had a wonderful extensive family to help with his unpredictable responsibilities as a firefighter. But that wasn't always enough. Sometimes, they even turned to the local oddity who was his new sister-in-law's best friend to find help for him.
Willow Dunaway had made changes in her life to make herself if not, whole, then better. Sure, others might not be able to understand everything she did, but it made her happy, and that was important. She couldn't allow the grouch that was Ethan to disturb her, but soon found that she couldn't prevent it. She wanted his good opinion. She wanted the small smiles and comforting hugs of his children. She wanted everything she hadn't allowed herself to dream about. She wanted him, but knew there was a good chance she wasn't what he would want.
Someone To Love was a sweet story of the healing power of love. Both Ethan and Willow have wounds from their pasts that they need to resolve, and luckily, they are able to do so with one another. Ethan is a wonderful hero, both in his career and life, and an even better father. Willow is a caring person who truly looks at how she can better others. I liked both characters, but would never have envisioned them together. However, I did enjoy the story and look forward to reading younger brother Rory Gallagher's story.



Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com

Someone to Love book two in the Darling VT series is just as it seems Darling. I normally have a hard time with widow(er) novels where the spouse was a wonderful person. It's so easier to believe someone falling in love so soon (less than a decade) after the loss of their spouse if the spouse was a horrible person. In instances like this where it's just a couple of years afterwards and he was hopelessly in love with his wife it hard for me to accept he could fall in love with another so soon ( I know it happens IRL) but Ethan, the main character, and the widower also thinks the same thing; and that's where this becomes believable and good. Ethan is struggling internally with himself about his love for his deceased wife and Willow. Ethan isn't the only one struggling internally, Willow has her own issues that is keeping her from fully admitting to herself that she loves Ethan and is worthy of his love and accepting that love. Willow works hard to maintain the cool and carefree zen like appearance and the introduction to Ethan and his two adorable sons has her all up in a twist.

Overall, Darling, really the name of the series says it all. I love the easy flow of the books and just enough angst to make you tear up and want to smack them up side the head Gibbs style and say, "What's wrong with you!", and appropriately funny in all the right places.

I haven't been huge on romance novels for a while, fearing that they all tend to be the same story just recycled. That is, with a few exceptions, and Donna Alward's books are a definitely an exception. This book made tough-hearted me cry at various points from the beginning to the end.

When I picked this book up, it didn't take long at all for me to become absorbed in the story. Every once in a while, I find a main character that I wish was real so I could become friends with them, and that character in this case, was Willow. How cool is she? Into Yoga and Natural foods, friendly, caring and the kind of person you want to see succeed. Not only that, but she was just the right level of messed up to make a story like this work. I love imperfect characters. Plus, I want to visit the Purple Pig.

Ethan was also very well-written. I liked that he came off as a bit of a grumpy git in the beginning and then softened as time went on. If you are struggling to believe in true love, this might be the book that changes your mind. Darling is a lovey little town with a lot to offer the reader. After spending some time with these novels, you will probably wish you lived there, too. I know I did.

These books are amazing. Written with just enough steam to keep you interested, but not so much that they are offensive in any way. The love story is sweet but realistic and the descriptions of the town are wonderful. This was a great book. Recommended to all romance fans.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

In the First Look on Somebody Like You the first book in the Darling, VT series by Donna Alward, Tanyalk mentions how wonderful it is to read about an ordinary couple. People like you and me.  In the second book, Someone to Love, this trend continues because that what Alward does—write about relatable people and their problems. but the focus is more on the difficulties of falling in love.
As youths, we tend to think that falling in love just happens when you meet the right one. And sometimes it does work that way. That is how it happened with Ethan. He met the right girl—Lisa. They both had the same goals. They got married and then had two rumbustious, adorable boys.  Their life was perfect. Until Lisa got ill and died. Now Ethan life is divided into two phases—with Lisa:
“Lisa was perfect for him. She was sweet but no pushover, and she ran a tight ship. Always organized, always taking the boys on little outings, making sure they did things as a family. For a long time, it seemed as though she had limitless energy. Maybe that’s when we first realized something was wrong. She lost that crazy spark.”
And life without. He has too much baggage to fall in love again. Not only is he mourning the loss of his wife, but also the demise of his dreams for the future. How he and Lisa would raise their boys, Connor and Ronan and then grow old together. Not only is he not living the life he planned but neither are Connor and Ronan. Sure, his mother and sisters has stepped in, providing a women’s touch, but he can tell at odd times that they miss being held in a mother’s arms. Do they feel the loss as keenly as he does? What do they remember?
“So, how is it? Do you like the carob chips, Ronan?”
His mouth was full so he nodded, his brown eyes sparkling. She laughed lightly and looked at Connor.
“Good cake.” He waved with his fork. “Almost as good as my mommy’s.”
Ethan froze. Connor had been Ronan’s age when Lisa died. How could he possibly remember what his mother’s cake had been like? Was he making it up? Pretending? Trying to hold on to fading memories or creating his own reality? Funny how a simple observation made Ethan question whether he’d paid enough attention to his son’s grieving process.
Ethan knows that his boys’ life lack the stability of before. With his rotating hours as a fireman, he must rely on his family. Ronan and Connor are moved from pillar to post, sometimes sleeping in their own beds, and sometimes sleeping at his parents. And that tears at him too.
Still dealing with the emotional fallout, He is very surprised when he feels an attraction to Willow. She is nothing like Lisa, with her pink stripe in her hair, and nose earring.  And her business—the pretentious café with all natural and organic food. Whoever heard of black-bean brownies?
Willow spent her high school years in Darling being straight as an arrow. As the high achiever in her class people expected her go do great things. Instead she moved away and then worked for years in the food industry as a waitress. She became interested in yoga and taught classes. And she embraced a more natural, laid-back lifestyle, discarding her Type A personality traits.  Because she finally recognized that nothing she did, would make her mother proud of her. And she had to learn how to deal with a tragic loss. But now she's back:
This town had welcomed her back, even with her quirkiness that was so different from the Type A teenager she’d been. Not all of those characteristics had disappeared, and she liked to think they served her well as a business owner. But she liked to feel as if she’d balanced her inner perfectionist with acceptance and calm.
And it is her inner calm, her ability to see a glass half full rather than empty that makes her so attractive to Ethan. What he wouldn’t give for some of Willow’s peace.
Feeling attracted to someone, doesn’t indicate emotional availability. Both Willow and Ethan must learn to trust again in the future. Someone to Love is the heartwarming journey of Willow and Ethan doing just that. There more than a few obstacles in the way, but the feelings they have for each other, make giving up impossible.
Someone to Love is a touching second chance at love story, filled with young boys’ hugs, friendship, and family. It proves that even with baggage you can fall in love again.

Curling up in a comfy chair with a Donna Alward novel is one of life’s greatest pleasures and this talented storyteller is back with another spellbinding, uplifting and irresistible read set in Darling, Vermont that will make you laugh, cry and leave you with a great big smile on your face: Someone to Love!

When firefighter Ethan Gallagher had declared his love to the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with on the town’s infamous Kissing Bridge, he had thought that his future was set and that a lifetime of married bliss and everlasting love awaited him. But unfortunately for Ethan, fate had other ideas in store for him. After the death of his wife, Ethan was left to bring up his two boys alone with only his grief and heartache for company. Ethan is not interested in romance, relationships or in finding the second Mrs Gallagher. Yet, destiny seems to once again have other plans in store for him…

Willow Dunaway had been desperate to get away from her hometown. Darling held memories which she wanted to forget and she had moved to Florida where she had worked hard to make a success of her life and to vanquish old ghosts and forge a new life for herself. Willow had managed to carve a successful life for herself in Florida, but when her hometown had called her back, she had been unable to resist going back to Darling. Now the owner of her own business, Willow is the mistress of her own destiny and she relishes her independence and her freedom. No longer the high school girl who had been frightened of her own painful memories, Willow is a strong and resourceful woman with the world of her feet. However, settling down with Mr Right is definitely not on the agenda – and even if it was, single dad Ethan Gallagher is as far removed from her idea of the perfect man as it is possible to get. So why can’t she stop thinking about him?

When temptation proves too hard to resist, Ethan and Willow quickly find themselves giving into the desire that rages between them. But when their no-strings fling has unexpected consequences, the two polar opposites begin to wonder whether a future together might not be completely out of the question after all…

Will Ethan and Willow manage to lay old ghosts to rest and to make a home in one another’s hearts? Or will they forever be held captive by their own fears, secrets and insecurities?

Donna Alward writes the kind of books you just cannot stop reading and Someone to Love is a poignant, feel-good and mesmerizing contemporary romance that I just couldn’t bear to put down! Packed with heart-wrenching pathos, delightful humour and intense emotional drama, Someone to Love is a dazzling tale about starting over, second chances and love lost and found that has got keeper written all over it.

With wonderful characters that you cannot help but love, a town you just want to move to and lashings of delicious romance, Someone to Love is the latest unmissable treat by Donna Alward!

After reading the first book in this series I was eager to my hands on the next one. When I got the chance to read this book I started it as soon as I could and it was amazing ! Donna Alward created another fantastic story with Someone to love

In this book we follow Ethan and Willow , at first you look at these two people and you immediately see two opposites , but these two could not be more perfect for each other . Ethan has twin boys and is still trying to come to terms with his wife's death. And Willow has come back to town to start her life over and at the same time try to overcome her past( when I heard more about willow's backstory I found my self tearing up a bit ) , so seeing these two find love with each other was wonderful . The romance in this book was sexy , fun and heartwarming and those are three things I love in my romance .I was so invested in these characters I needed to see them get there happy ever after no matter what happened and trust alot happened .This book never had a dull moment and I just loved that ! It constantly kept me on my toes . I was turning each page so very eager to find out what was in store for these two next .This book was just was just fantastic

Somebody To Love was a sexy , emotional , heartwarming small town romance . I cannot wait to dig into the next book in this series

I have slightly mixed feelings about this one. I absolutely loved Willow and Ethan and their interactions were a lot of fun to read. They have very different outlooks on life and -especially at the beginning- misinterpret what they see of each other but they're both honest and direct with each other which kept it from being frustrating. I really appreciated that Ethan's marriage had been a happy one and that he isn't afraid of love but of loss and having his children hurt. I loved checking in with the Gallagher family and with Darling, Vermont. In the previous book it was clear that Willow had quite a back story. It was nice to get to know her better and to learn her story.

My mixed feelings come from the last third of the book or so. While I understand Willow's reaction to the conflict given her history I struggled with the fact that she avoided Ethan for several weeks given the fact that she had formed an attachment with his children and them with her. I understood his anger as his fear of letting someone in to their lives and then them disappearing had been realized. As well I wasn't entirely comfortable with her deceptive phrasing to Ethan regarding the conflict. I understood her motivation but the lack of honesty seemed out of character. Willow's back story could be considered controversial but it was handled so sensitively and honestly that I don't think anyone would have a problem with it.

Despite my minor hesitation with this book I really did enjoy the read. I found the characters unique and interesting and just plain likable. I loved seeing more of the town and I absolutely can't wait for the next book!