A story of family, home, and community all wrapped up with a villainous plot to destroy a perceiving slight. Really great! This first book of the Mystery of the Three Gems series was really an enrapturing read. While it took me a while to pick it up from my stack of books, it only took one day to read (around a 12-hour day of work, no less) because I couldn't put it down and was thinking about it constantly.

Isabella discovered, with the help of her imaginary friends when she was eight, that she loved cooking, food, and the pleasure it brings people. Pursuing her dream of becoming a Chef is a path she is determinedly walking when the death of her father puts a wrench in her plans. Returning to her childhood home of the Twin Springs Hotel, that has survived throughout the ages, including wars, fires, and persecution. But things are not as they seem at the Twin Springs. Discovering that her father sold half shares of the hotel to fund renovations and remodels is a shock, but that he sold it to the Beau that broke her heart is to much. Plus, mysterious accidents keep popping up and causing massive damage to the beautiful, historic hotel.

Now, she and her sister have one year to turn the Twin Springs Hotel around and buy back their heritage. But first, Isabella must learn how to actually run a hotel while ducking the persistent advances of the man she was hurt by, and stopping the vandal from destroying the very thing she's trying to save.

A great contemporary novel that meshes real life, discovering your passions, achieving your goals, and, oh yeah, a ghost that's revealing the hidden past of the Twin Springs Hotel through dreams and mysterious occurrences.

3.75 stars
This was a bit of tangle to unravel, with the story starting in the past and moves to current day. The small blips of the past to help you understand or guide you in figuring out the now. There is a small twist of mystery and attraction. The writing was good and the characters were developed well, but it just wasn’t enough to capture me personally.

The book was good to read. Not super, but good. The cover was perfect. The story so so. Some parts wowed me, some were just kind of dull. Overall 3.5 stars. Perhaps I expected much more than I got here? I don't know.

Honestly? This book was.... cheesy.
I think that there was a lot more potential that the book didn't exactly reach. The writing was fine, if a bit convoluted. Most of the giant paragraphs I just skimmed, or completely skipped over. It was too much, to have giant clumps of exposition.
The romance felt kind of rushed, and the mystery was obvious from the start.

A very well written romantic suspense. Loved the plot and the characters. This book will keep you guessing. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Romantic mystery set in a large family hotel. Weaving events from the past with the present this was an enjoyable read.