Review: Cherry Lane by Rochelle Alers

Cherry Lane by Rochelle Alers
Published by Grand Central Publishing on May 26th 2015
Genres: African American, Contemporary, Contemporary Women, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 400
Format: eBook
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three-half-stars

A place to call home . . .In New York City, attorney Devon Gilmore devoted all her time and energy to fast-track her career. She lost her boyfriend . . . but found herself with a surprise baby on the way. To begin a new life, Devon needs a place to settle down-a place like Cavanaugh Island, where the pace is slow, the weather is fine, and the men are even finer. From the moment David Sullivan meets Devon, he knows he can't fight the laws of attraction. Whether it's helping fix up the old cottage she just bought on Cherry Lane or working together on a pro bono legal case, he can't help feeling a little protective. But will the most eligible bachelor in town be ready for an instant family? Only if he can convince Devon to put her heart on the line one more time-for all time.

Cherry Lane by Rochelle Alers is the last book in the Cavanaugh Island series. It follows two lawyers; Devin Gilmore who we met in Magnolia Drive and David Sullivan, Jeff’s cousin who we know from Angel’s Landing.

Devin is Keaton’s business manager and lawyer and decided to visit Cavanaugh Island for a little rest and relaxation after the betrayal of her ex boyfriend and the discovery that she is pregnant. Enter David Sullivan. They meet on the night of her arrival at a get together. A week later they are in love and engaged to be married.

I am used to the trademark Rochelle Alers style and am quite aware that the vast majority of her characters fall in love and get married really quickly. I’m typically fine with it but for this story, however, it didn’t really work for me. I just found it hard to believe that David was so willing to become a father to Devon’s unborn baby so quickly. He knew absolutely nothing about the real circumstances surrounding her pregnancy and failed relationship until well after the fact.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are good men out there and more than a few that would willingly step up to the plate if they felt called to but this one was a bit much. He didn’t even have time to process the fact that the woman he was interested in was pregnant. He went from thinking she was beautiful to offering her a position at his new law practice and then proposing and becoming her protector in record time. There was no hesitancy on his end or anything. While I am willing to suspend my disbelief a lot when reading fiction, I couldn’t really do that in this situation. I wanted him to at least contemplate whether he was sure about his decision. I wanted him to ask more questions, I wanted there to be at least a little chink in his armor. There is such a thing as too perfect and David Sullivan was it. I didn’t really believe his character and how he reacted to this new situation and that is an absolute first for me in any Rochelle Alers book.

Devon was a bit more tolerable on my end but even she too irritated me quite a few times. In the end I guess this is why they were perfect for each other.

Aside from that, the book did have its redeeming qualities. We got a peek into everyone’s lives and received updates on all of the couples from the previous books. That for me was worth it and why I would still say it was an okay read. Fans of Rochelle Alers would be happy with this book. Per her usual, we got rich history, beautiful backdrops and the sort of love between the characters that we have come to expect.

Cherry Lane was probably the weakest of the Cavanaugh Island books in my opinion. However, if you have read the other books in this series I would recommend reading it to properly tie up the series and the characters we have become acquainted with.

If I were asked whether to buy or borrow this book, I would probably say to borrow it.

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Natalya

Natalya is an Account Manager by day and an editor and author's assistant to passionate creatives by night. When she is not adding to her enormous book collection or stationery supply, she is catching up on her favorite television shows.

Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.

You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.