Review: Like Never Before by Melissa Tagg

Melissa Tagg's Best Contemporary Romance Yet

Amazon Description

Maple Valley became Amelia Bentley's haven after her heart and her dreams of a family were shattered. But her new life as a newspaper editor is shaken when the small-town paper is in danger of closing. Her one hope: A lead on an intriguing story that just might impress the new publisher...if only she knew who he was.

After his biggest campaign success yet, widowed speechwriter Logan Walker now has the chance of a lifetime--a spot on a presidential campaign. But his plans are interrupted when he finds out he's inherited his hometown newspaper. He travels home intent on selling the paper and spending some much-needed time with his young daughter before making the leap into national politics.

But instead of a quick sale and peaceful break from his hectic career, Logan finds himself helping Amelia chase her story. She's scrappy, but wounded. He's dependable, but lost. They may butt heads more than expected, but a series of leads on Maple Valley's quirky unsolved mystery is just the start of the sparks that fly in the office and in their hearts.

My Review

Like Never Before is the third book in the Walker Family series, but can easily be read as a standalone novel (thankfully—while I’ve read the previous two, I read so many books I can’t keep up with complex plots that require me to remember every detail of the previous novels).

I thought Like Never Before was excellent. Amelia and Logan were both great characters—totally opposite in many ways, but both doubting their Christian faith since the loss of their respective spouses. The writing was excellent, with the romantic tension between Amelia and Logan so strong it almost flew off the page. Just what we need in a romance . . .

I also enjoyed the interplay between the Walker siblings (and Amelia), and the sense of family that showed. And I liked the mystery around aviation pioneer Charles Lindberg, local eccentric Kendall Wilkins, and the empty safety deposit box (and not just because it forced Amelia and Logan to spend more time together. But that was part of it).

There were a couple of editing glitches (wrong character name, a repeated paragraph), but I read a review copy, not the final text, so these will hopefully be corrected before final publication (ditto for the typo in the Amazon book description). And sometimes the writing sounded more like Susan May Warren than Melissa Tagg, but SMW is one of my favourite authors, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing . . .

Overall, I agree with Susan May Warren that Melissa Tagg just keeps getting better and better. This is definitely her best yet. Recommended for contemporary romance fans.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

5*