Grand Lake Colorado Series: Complete Small Town Contemporary Romance Book Collection - Perfect for Cozy Reading & Relaxation

In the hustle and bustle of today’s world, it is nice to think that somewhere there is a place where people know each other and wish each other well. Alexis Winter’s small Colorado town of Grand Lake is filled with a community of individuals who are working together to create a place where everyone is welcome, even those who have made mistakes and bad choices. And, it is filled town filled with love—sometimes misplaced, sometimes mis-timed, and sometimes healing and sometimes a second chance. This is a collection of heartwarming tales of small town love.My Crush’s Brother Learning to Love the Other BrotherThe transition from childhood to young adulthood is filled with unseen traps as hormones and emotions mix without any real method of sorting out what emotions are real and which are transitory. Cute strawberry blonde, blue-eyed Pearl Davenport had been best friends with Trevor Winthrop since they were 7 years old, and if asked, she would confess—but not to him—that she loved him. And, she did, but young emotions are at times not clearly distinguished. “Love” is love, and as a young adult, distinguishing the nuisances of romantic/sexual love from the platonic love might not be clear. And so, at 18, they went separate ways with no confessions of love or commitment. Pearl went to college close by in Boulder, Colorado, while Trevor, always an exceptionally brilliant student in the areas of math and science, went to study at the University of Chicago. And, when Pearl graduated with a bachelors’ degree in marketing, she came back home to Grand Lake where there were no jobs in marketing, but there were jobs at the local pub. Trevor stayed in Chicago, working his way steadily towards his PhD. And, while he could have come home on vacations and holidays—back to Pearl, Trevor chose to accompany his first real girlfriend with whom he felt romantic love, back to her home in the eastern part of the country rather than come back to Grand Lake and the woman whom he loved platonically, best friend, Pearl.But, Pearl was constant and unwavering in her love for Trevor, so while he asked his college sweetheart to marry him, Pearl waited for him to realize that his true love was waiting for him back in their small home town of Grand Lake. And while she waited, Pearl finally put her marketing skills to work helping Trevor’s widowed mother and his older brother, Blake, re-energize the family business of rental cabins using her marketing skills. And as Pearl works her marketing magic, crafting a website and social media feeds to promote the Winthrop rental cabins, she finds Blake a bigger, more manly version of her childhood friend. But her heart isn’t ready to break out of childhood patterns of love—and so, she still plans on Trevor being her first and only lover.And now at 24, Pearl is finally going to have a chance to remind Trevor of the girl who has loved him for years. He is coming home to visit his mom and brother, and Pearl plans to confess her love to her childhood friend and to offer herself to him sexually. But, the more she spends time with Blake, the more she comes to see that he fits her in ways that Trevor never will.Alexis Winter tells a tale of first crush that gets mistaken as first love. Pearl’s heart has to grow up in order to recognize the nature of adult love and to be willing to let go of dreams of childhood for the reality of mature sexual love with the other brother.Hate You Forever When All the Pieces of the Puzzle FitSome people are content and fulfilled with the people and life of a small town; others must leave the tight confines of a small town feeling unable to stretch and grow under the close, but loving eyes of generations of family and friends; those individuals will never be content until they explore the world and its offerings.Jade Seymore had always embraced the life of Grand Lake, her small town. She thought that everything and everyone she loved and needed resided within the confines of Grand Lake. So, when Jade Seymour gave her heart and body to her high school love, Memphis Styles, she was confident that they would marry and live happily-ever-after. She had no idea that 10 years would pass before she would see his green eyes again. Although Memphis had a football scholarship to college, he had other ideas of how he would live his life on his terms, and it seems that those terms did not include Jade. So, without telling Jade that he had changed his plans for college and had chosen to enlist in the military to see the world and to sort out what he really wanted in life beyond their small town of Grand Lake.It has taken Jade years to accept Memphis’ leaving and rejecting her love. Once she was able to accept that he had truly rejected her, she had tried to find another love to replace him, but her efforts have been futile. So, for the last 10 years, Jade has worked at the local veterinarian’s office, cared for her aging mom and hung out with friends like Pearl Davenport who, while she left their town for college, had come home live in Grand Lake.But after 10 years, even the most faithful girlfriend has to have questions about the promises of love that were whispered in her ear by Memphis, especially when their only contact has been his random Facebook posts featuring him in exotic places with other girls. So, Jade had dated other men and had tried to find the love she had once felt in Memphis’ arms, in the arms of other men, but with no success. And recently, using a dating site, she has finally connected—even though long distance—with a man—Paul—whose work has led him to Argentina. And, over the last several months they have shared much of their hearts during their chats. What Jade never anticipated was that Memphis would return, and while her heart still hurts from his rejection, it also still sparks when he talks to her, and especially when they kiss. And, just as Jade’s relationship with Memphis begins to reignite, Paul, the man who has offered her heart hope over the internet, has travelled to Grand Lake to meet in person with the woman who has touched his heart and soul. What’s a girl to do?Alexis Winter tells a tale of young love that struggles to live through time and distance. Jade’s heart must live on hope until the reality of returned and present love to her world.Falling for the Sheriff Fate and Shared Dreams of Love and FamilyA big city is a cornucopia of opportunities and experiences which enrich lives, but the same size and options can also have hidden challenges and even danger, not to mention time consuming commutes. In contrast, small towns offer a sense of community and belonging balanced against limited opportunities and career choices, sometimes necessitating relocations to other places to find employment.Nina Waters benefited from the life of growing up in the large city of Denver. Abandoned as an infant, it did not take long for the baby to be placed into the loving and nurturing care of doting parents. With the supportive love of her older parents, she grew into a beauty with long dark hair and blue eyes. But the darker side of the city revealed itself when her parents were the unfortunate victims of a bank robbery that ended in tragedy with their deaths and other bystanders and bank employees when the robbers’ explosive device detonated as police officers rushed the bank.Now, Nina has moved to Lake Grand, a small town located a short drive from Denver where she serves as the IT officer for the local police department. As a girl of the big city, Nina has surprisingly quickly and happily embraced the close friendship and support of new acquaintances. And, she has begun to plant roots in the community. She has recently purchased a small, one-bedroom cabin on a mountain located just outside of Lake Grand.But, as an employee of the local police department, she has become aware that Lake Grand is not perfect. The small community has few activities and supports for the adolescents of the town. And, without options or activities to fill their time in a productive manner, they are getting into trouble. So, for the last year or so, Nina has nurtured a dream—she wants to use the money she inherited from her parents’ death to positively impact her new community. She has investigated the possibility of establishing a youth center which could not only provide physical activities to support the youth’s undirected energies, but also assist with SAT prep and college applications. And she has created plans, an interactive website and a presentation for the city council introducing her ideas.Bryce Moore, one of Lake Grand’s newest citizens, has recently moved to accept the position as Chief of the Lake Grand Police Force. He has come from Denver as an honored and respected member of the Denver City Police Force. But he has had enough of the big city life; he experienced firsthand the darker side of the city when he was badly wounded in an attempt to stop a bank robbery. Now completely recovered, he has reflected on the difference between life as a police officer in Denver and as one in Lake Grand. And he has made a choice; he had decided that staying in a big city like Denver meant that he had to accept the dangers and challenges of policing; he would have to accept that the people he met would not care if they hurt him. He had decided that he did not want to live his life in fear or dread every time he donned his uniform and badge.When Nina asks Bryce as her new boss and Chief of Police to support her quest before the town council to endorse the construction of a youth center, a bond of common cause and romantic interest is initiated. While both are drawn by the life of style offered in Grand Lake, the couple come to recognize that their lives have more points of connections than shared social goals.Alexis Winters explores the twisting threads of love, common goals and unknown encounters that weave together the lives and two individuals who are more connected by fate than might be apparent.Single Dad Dilemma Love and CupcakesViolet knew what it was like to flee the disappointments of life and to drift towards new beginnings. Her childhood had been filled with drifting and relocations after the death of her mother. And, even as a child, she knew that her dad was flawed—battling his drug addiction—but she never doubted his love and devotion to her, his only child.Now, as an adult, Violet has chosen to settle in Grand Lake, a small town located not far from Denver, Colorado. And, she is living her dream and passion—she owns a small house and is the owner-operator of popular bakery with the help of Jane, her assistant. And while each day starts extremely early as the baking process repeats daily, Violet is content and fulfilled.When Carson Evans, successful Chicago lawyer, and his preschool daughter, Margo, relocate to Grand Lake from Chicago, Carson is fleeing the pain of his shattered life and dreams. With the death of his college sweetheart who became his beloved wife in a car accident, the only thing that keeps him moving forward is the product of his sweet shared love—his daughter Margo. Now, relocated far away from the life he and Katie had created. He is trying to regroup and start over in a new place with a new career as a boat builder, a passion of his youth.When a new resident, a single dad and his young pre-school daughter find their way into Violet’s bakery, love and fate bring together two motherless girls to make a new family. Alexis Winter offers a sweet tale of a second chance at love and to build a family.Alexis Winter combines sweet buns and sweet dreams of family as two souls who have been buffeted by life find a safe harbor in the arms of each otherI received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.