Mattie's Meltaways by Mary Manners
Blurb:
Mattie Spencer has spent the last decade raising her three younger and grooming Sweet Treats Bakery into a thriving business. Over the years, she's watched her sisters grow into beautiful women and find the men of their dreams. Now it's her turn, but, at thirty-five, she feels too old to dream of a husband and children of her own. Tyler Jacobs, a firefighter in the small town of Mount Ridge, keeps busy raising his seven-year-old daughter. The death of his wife during three years ago still haunts him, but morning stops into Sweet Treats, along with a dose of conversation and a handful of Mattie's delicious mint meltaways, kindle a desire he thought was extinguished forever. Now Tyler has just one goal--to convince Mattie that love knows no age
Excerpt:
Tyler was thankful for the bite of a cold breeze as he trekked across the square to the fire hall. The chill cleared his head and brought his heart rate under control. Seeing Mattie did weird things to his insides…things that felt unsettling and pleasant at the same time. He couldn’t put his finger on it. But the brush of her hand kindled a need buried deep in him…how long had it been since he’d felt the gentle touch of a woman?
And Tessa, asking him to feel the baby growing in her belly…it brought back memories of Lydia , and the devastating childbirth that took both her and his son. Jessie should have a baby brother, but she remained an only child—and motherless, to boot.
Tyler tried not to dwell on the loss. Three years had passed since he’d lost Lydia and Noah. He’d stumbled through all the classic stages of grief and shaken his fist at God more times than he could count. There were no answers…he simply needed to trust. And he did. Yet sometimes the loss still burdened his heart.
But not around Mattie. No, never around Mattie. She filled something in him that was missing. He wanted more, but he didn’t know how to go about asking for it. He was nearly twenty years out of the dating scene, and the game was beyond terrifying. But he’d asked her to dinner, and she’d said yes. Tyler picked up the pace, his chest suddenly a bit lighter. Maybe it wasn’t so bad…navigating through the dating waters.
But was it a date? Did Jessie’s birthday party count? He shook his head, the slight bit of confidence shattered. Oh, well…
He delved into the pastry bag, took one of the square meltaways and tossed it into his mouth. The chocolate—smooth with a hint of mint—dissolved on his tongue and left him longing for another taste.
Review: 5 stars
It's not often we celebrate the release of a new book with a feeling of sadness, yet today Mattie's Meltaways comes out, completeing the Sweet Treat's Bakery series. In this series Ms. Manners has given us a wonderful assortment of characters to fall in love with and her latest book is no exception.
Mattie gave up everything to raise her three sisters, including her career and any chance of love. Until firefighter Tyler Jacobs comes along and steals her heart. But when they have very different things they want from the relationship, can the obstacle be overcome?
A short story, weighing in at 80 pages, it is packed with emotion and heart pumping action to keep the reader glued to the pages. A fantastic end to a wonderful series, Ms. Manners leaves the reader with a surprise I didn't see coming. (no jumping to the end to read it because you'll miss out on a great story if you do.) Just make sure you have a tissue to hand, because you'll need it. The entire series is already back in my TBR pile.
(Oh and Mary - my Jessie at 12 still leaves me almost identical notes with yes and no ticky boxes. Including ones that say do you love me --yes --no)
Comments
Great review, Clare. I can't wait to read this entire series by Mary Manners. I need some rainy days to catch up with all my reading.