Once upon a Valentine by Holly Jacobs

So, here is Holly's final book in the Trilogy (though I hope she finds a mate for Judge Bradley). Could Heidi be that person?

Ok, lets get down to business. Carly is newly divorced from her husband since she caught him cheating with his secretary on their couch.......a couch she bought. We won the infamous couch in the divorce settlement and decided to torch it. Well, that didn't go too well as she ended up burning up her shed and the neighbor's shed and got arrested for arson. She was ordered to do community service by Judge Bradley (Alan) who as it turns out, is the brother-in-law of Chuck, the officer that Carly has to work with.

Chuck is oh so nice but has a rule that he won't date a woman after 6 weeks. He did want to go out with Carly (though she has a wild side). Carly is also a bit wary of men after the drama with her ex.

I liked Carly and found her to be strong, witty, compassionate. She spent all her life jumping through hoops for her husband and I liked that Holly "allowed" her some time to find herself or her "color" as she mentioned in the novel. With kids around my kids age, I know it had to be tough and the ex (whom I won't even mention his name) is such a hard as.. for not wanting to spend time with his kids.

Here is where Chuck steps in. Clever Chuck. He totally wins Carly over as he is patient and kind and totally likes spending time with her kids. I love a man who will take the kids to a game so mom can study for her boards.

Friendship: Carly, Michelle and Samantha formed a strong bond of friendship which I totally enjoyed. Being married with kids is a sure recipe for being frazzled and sometimes missing out on friendships with other women. We need that to stay sane.......kudos to Holly for penning this lovely trilogy and I do hope I get to read about Andy and Heidi real soon.