The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley, #2)

by Devney Perry

[Cocktails and Books]

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

Ever wonder what happens when you spontaneously marry a man in Vegas and then wake to find him gone? In THE CLOVER CHAPEL, Emmeline discovers that what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas.

This second chance romance started off giving us the back story of Nick and Emmy. They met in Vegas, end up paired up with each other and their attraction to each other leads to dares and a Vegas wedding. Come morning, Emmy finds herself alone and left to come back to New York and figure out what's next. Fast forward nine years and school teacher Emmy discovers that her husband (yep...never got that pesky divorce) lives in the small town she just moved to and is determined to keep her as his wife.

I didn't read the first book in this series, but there was no need because the author did a great job of making sure readers were "caught up" on anything from that first book that might turn up in this story. The author can bring the angst. But I found myself halfway through the book wondering how much longer were we going to have to wait for Emmy to finally admit she still loved Nick and didn't really want the divorce? That was all I cared about. I didn't care who was stalking her or what Nick's family's MC business was that might spill over to them. I wanted to know if they were going to stay together and have a real marriage. Was Emmy going to continue to punish Nick or was she going to forgive him?

Nick and Emmy's relationship was complicated. The had a lot of baggage to weed through, I get it. But I didn't feel like we needed the other family drama. Let them hash things out, let them build a new relationship and figure out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. That would have been angsty enough without added any other drama in.

Despite what I have above, I still liked the story. Nick had some awesome alpha male moments and I enjoyed Nick's friends embracing Emmy (even before they knew who she was to him). And by the end of the story, I was happy these two finally figured out what family meant and built one that worked for them.