AUTUMN DREAMS by Gayle Roper

There are many reasons to like this series of books by Gayle Roper and here are a few that apply to this book and book 1 and 2 in this series: 1) she deals with issues in everyday life that are not easy to understand and cope with, 2) the story has many different stories inside of the one story. It is not just about two main characters, but each character in the story seems to have a story to tell, 3) it is a fiction work that reads like a real life story - people have problems, worries, faults and none of them lead a perfect little life, and 4) she brings everyone's own personality into the story and weaves together a piece of fiction that has you wanting to keep reading more. And I should mention that yes, there is always some good romance included.

In this story you have Cass Merton who finds herself trying to be a good daughter, Aunt, sister, innkeeper and employer and learning to be content with no man in her life. In walks Dan Harmon ("thecompulsive, overachieving pragmatist") into her bed and breakfast in Seaside and the plot thickens. He is staying for awhile because "he knew that the chief end of man was to love God and enjoy Him forever, but when he tried to imagine what that meant, especially the enjoying God part, and how he should accomplish it, his mind was a blank as an unused ledger and a lot more useless". Then you have the easygoing nephew, Jared, and the niece Jenn, who has a "chip on her shoulder" most of the time staying with Cass for awhile. There are her parents who are growing old and how does she handle the increasing dementia in her Mom's life. Last but not least is her employee, Brenna, who seems to have some secrets she can't seem to share.

As you can see this makes for a very interesting and enjoyable backdrop for a very well done story on love, understanding and acceptance of the situations we all find ourselves in in life. There are lessons to be learned, secrets to be exposed and love to enjoy for the first time! I am anxious to read book 4 in this series. These books can easily be read as stand alones, but they are so good you will want to read them all.