"The Ride of Her Life" Review

"The Ride of Her Life"
by Lorna Seilstad

Publisher: Revell
Release Date: May 1, 2012

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:  

The only man pragmatic Lilly Hart needs in her life is a six year old. Widowed two years ago, Lilly leaves the shelter of her intrusive in-laws' home to stand on her own and provide for her young son by working for the summer as a cook at Lake Manawa. However, her in-laws find that life utterly unsuitable for their grandson, and when a row ensues, a handsome stranger--who designs roller coasters, of all things--intercedes on her behalf. Still, Lilly is not about to get involved with any man, especially this cocky (though charismatic) gentleman. Little does she know she is about to begin the ride of her life.Filled with delightful characters and the romance of summer, The Ride of Her Life is another supremely entertaining story from the witty Lorna Seilstad. Readers will laugh out loud and sigh contentedly as they spend the summer of 1906 in Lake Manawa.

My Review:

This was the first book I've read by this author, but now I've got to go back and read the first two books in this series ASAP! The book had everything that I'm looking for in a historical romance, great characters, a fun and unique setting, and so much romance!

The story had a lot of romance, which is something you really don't see that often in historical romances. It's almost like the romances are thrown in at the last minute sometimes. But this story really is a romance, the bulk of the tale focuses on Lilly and Nick. They spend so much time together getting to know each other, I loved all of their scenes together. I really did understand why Lilly had such a hard time handling a new romance since her husband had passed away, on the other hand it was so frustrating watching her push away someone as great as Nick when he wanted to help her so much.

The supporting characters in the book were fantastic as well. It was fun to see the pitfalls that Lilly and her kitchen assistant at work would fall into, since the poor assistant was just so accident prone. Lilly's son, Levi, is adorable and his scenes never feel forced or used just to be cute. He had a lot of funny lines, but they all seemed very realistic. Even the somewhat bad characters (no spoilers, you'll find out!) were so well written, representing both the bad and good sides of their characters.

The main reason I wanted to read this book was because of the roller coaster and the theme park setting, and it did not disappoint. It was such an interesting and unique setting, and the author really makes the reader feel like she/he is there. I admit that in some ways the cover does look a little silly (even though I love it at the same time), so I was pleasantly surprised that the book isn't silly at all. It is a light read for the most part, but there is a lot of heart. All in all it's a perfect heartwarming, romantic summer read.

Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line: I can't wait to read the first two books in this series. My only complaint is that this series is over now!