"To Love and Cherish" by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller is the second book in the "Bridal Veil Island" trilogy. Bridal Veil Island, a fictional island set off the coast of Georgia, is a popular resort area that caters to the wealthy. Melinda Colson became a lady's maid out of necessity after her parents died and left her and her brother, Lawrence, penniless. She regularly spends winters on Bridal Veil Island with her employers, where she meets Evan Tarlow, the gamekeeper for the island resort. A romance between them develops, but the future remains uncertain. After a hurricane strikes the island, Melinda leaves her employers and travels back to Bridal Veil in order to search for Evan. She obtains full-time employment on the island in hopes that will spur Evan to proposing. There are plenty of twists and turns in their journey to the altar!Overall, this book was a bit slow and contrived. Melinda was a bit annoying in that she spent much of her time bemoaning why Evan hadn't proposed yet. Even when it comes out later that he doesn't want to get married until he is financially stable enough to provide for a wife and family (a noble reason, to be sure), she still doesn't accept it and continues to pout and whine.
The plot picked up more steam and became a bit more likeable toward the end, but it simply took a long time to get there. Normally, I love books by Tracie Peterson, but this book, and the series as a whole thus far, have fallen far short of her normal engaging standard. This series hasn't really been up to par lately so I'll probably be bypassing the final book in lieu of some of the authors' other work.
(I’ve received this complimentary book from Bethany House Publishers through the Book Blogger program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)
