Sweetest in the Gale: A Marysburg Story Collection (There's Something about Marysburg, #3)

by Olivia Dade

3 stories + 3 couples = 6 lonely hearts finding happily-ever-after at last.

"Sweetest in the Gale": Much ado about love...

Candy Albright has always stomped confidently through the halls of Marysburg High, passionate and loud and entirely devoted to her students and her various English department initiatives. From his first day as her colleague, Griff Conover couldn't look away, despite his best efforts.

After a summer apart, though, Candy returns to school a changed woman. Muted. Dimmed. Bowed by a grief Griff recognizes all too well, but doesn't yet understand. And when they're thrown together to coordinate a poetry project, he can't resist the urge to read between her lines once and for all--even if doing so means he'll have to confront his own loss...and his own lonely, longing heart.

"Unraveled": The more tightly wound a man is, the faster he unravels...

Math teacher Simon Burnham--cool, calm, controlled--can't abide problems with no good solution. Which makes his current work assignment, mentoring art teacher Poppy Wick, nothing short of torture. She's warm but sharp. Chaotic but meticulous. Simultaneously the most frustrating and most alluring woman he's ever known. And in her free time, she makes murder dioramas. Murder dioramas, for heaven's sake. But the more tightly wound a man is, the faster he unravels--and despite his best efforts, he soon finds himself attempting to solve three separate mysteries: a murder in miniature, the unexplained disappearance of a colleague...and the unexpected theft of his cold, cold heart.

"Cover Me": First comes marriage...

Elizabeth Stone has no health insurance. No savings. No one to turn to when she finds a lump on her breast...except James Magnusson, her friend of over twenty years. When he offers her a marriage of convenience for healthcare coverage, she'd be a fool to say no. But given the emotions she's buried for so long, saying yes might lead to a broken heart.

James won't take no for an answer. Not when marriage could save Elizabeth's life, and not when he's finally realized how much he needs her. Even during his doomed first marriage, James considered Elizabeth a special friend--one he had to keep at a safe distance. Now he's free, and Elizabeth is his wife...but will they finally have the chance to be together, only to have everything torn apart?

Content guidance for "Cover Me": This story contains discussions of breast cancer, an on-page mammogram and biopsy, and a definite happily-ever-after.


This book contains one entirely new story ("Sweetest in the Gale") and two stories previously published in the He's Come Undone and Rogue Acts anthologies. The latter stories have been lightly edited since their original publication, and "Unraveled" has a new epilogue.

• ISBN10: 1945836172
• ISBN13: 9781945836176
• Publish Date: 1 July 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Hussies & Harpies Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 322
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

I really enjoyed all three of the stories in this book! I would have liked to have more of each of them - I really wish they could have been full length books. However, I respect that Olivia Dade didn't stretch them out just for the sake of making them longer. Each one told a good, complete story.

"Sweetest in the Gale"
This story let us see the soft underbelly of the hard shelled English teacher, Candy Albright, who we've gotten to know from the first book. And we have another English teacher, Griff Conover, who I don't remember from the previous book, but maybe he was in it. I don't think he was, as he's a newer addition to the Marysburg staff. I loved the way this story dealt with grief and loss, as well as the incorporation of so many quotes from both classics and more recent literature. I just want more of them! Hopefully in future books.

"Unraveled"
I started off really not liking Simon Burnham (Math Teacher). He reminded me of an administrator I once had, so quick to judge and assume the worst. But I grew to LOVE him because he also was quick to recognize his mistakes and to apologize for being an ass. And to work hard to make up for it, including calling others on their assery. Not to mention, getting to know him means understanding him and his reasons for needing so much order in his life. Poppy Wick is the new Art Teacher and loved her from the start. From playing hangman at the faculty meeting (been there, done that) to the way she is with her students, she's just lovable. Watching these opposites fall in love - along with some interesting mystery solving as a side story - was entertaining and left me hoping for more as well.

"Cover Me"
Even though this book takes us away from the staff of Marysburg high, it may have been my favorite of three. Perhaps because of the incredible Elizabeth Stone - she's brave, determined, caring. There's a scene were she's tells off a politician that had me cheering and wishing it could have been a real moment that I could have joined in on. James is also a great character, but I wish we got to know him better. In fact, this short I think had enough that it could have been a full length novel. Perhaps it would have been too emotional, with the breast cancer scare but I would have liked to have the back story and friendship decades long friendship between Elizabeth and James. This is the first relationship in the series built on a history and I would have liked to see it -- even if it was just flashbacks or something. That's my only complaint though.

The narration by Kelsey Navarro continues to be great and I would not hesitate to listen to more books she narrates. She brings the characters to life with distinct voices that convey some of their personality.