Meet Daniel, the fourth of five unforgettable characters in the Emerald Springs Legacy.

Life in the small town of Emerald Springs, Washington, is anything but slow and peaceful. An old feud between former business partners Whitman and Sanders keeps competition on a high burner, fueling resentment, renewing rivalries . . . and love. Now someone is trying to bring down Emerald Tea Farm, and it’s up to both families to protect their future while still wrangling over the past.

Daniel Whitman has a plan to turn the family resort into an exclusive eco-friendly resort, but his family thinks the timing is wrong. Undaunted, he heads off to Australia to investigate an award-winning spa. He’s immediately attracted to marketing manager Rochelle Harris but pushes it aside to concentrate on business.

After growing up with a mother who frittered away every penny her father earned, Rochelle’s only goal is to become financially secure without relying on anyone. Her innovative ideas put her resort at the top of its field, and she doesn’t need a sexy, attractive American distracting her from her plans.

The more time they spend together, the more the attraction grows. Then a disaster back home has consequences even Daniel’s not prepared for. Rochelle is left to pick up the pieces of her shattered dreams. Can either of them start their lives over, or will circumstances beyond their control force them both to take a risk and trust again?

MY REVIEW:

I really enjoyed reading DANIEL’S DECISION by talented author Nicole Flockton. It’s the fourth of five books in the Emerald Springs Legacy continuity series and I have only also read the prequel, Trouble Brewing, not the rest of the series itself. Ms. Flockton smoothly includes enough character development of Daniel’s brothers, family, and friends that I felt I knew them and I had no problem enjoying the story, even without reading the other books in the continuity yet.

DANIEL’S DECISION is about Daniel Whitman, who is in charge of the family’s resort hotel in Emerald Springs and the last of the three brothers to remain a bachelor. He has great fun teasing his brothers, especially Chad, for having fallen in love. He feels safe doing so since he is convinced he’ll never be bitten by that bug. Daniel has plans to expand the services the family’s resort offers in order to attract a more discriminating level of clients. He has heard great things about some innovative changes Kulang, a resort hotel in Australia, has made and decides to take a trip for research. The moment he arrives he meets Rochelle Harris and knows he’ll do most anything to get to know her better while he’s visiting Australia.

Rochelle is the marketing manager at the Kulang and it is her ideas that have brought so much recent growth and success to the resort. She is a strong, ambitious and fiercely independent woman who is solely focused on advancing in her career with no time for men. It’s impossible not to admire her and root for her happiness and success, she came from a rough beginning and has made her accomplishments all on her own. She tried having a romantic relationship once before and it left her with nothing but a broken heart and a threat to her career advancement. The minute she sees Daniel she knows he’ll be nothing but trouble for her and vows to avoid him.

Daniel, the sworn bachelor, is almost immediately smitten with Rochelle, who as fate would have it tries every trick she can to avoid him. One, because she doesn’t trust herself considering the intense attraction she feels for him and two, she knows he’s from a competitive resort and believes he’s there as a spy to smooth talk her out of trade secrets. Daniel although usually all about business is more interested in smooth talking Rochelle into his bed. The draw between these two is irresistible and the chemistry magnetic. It’s a sweet story and so well told. Rochelle doesn’t make it easy for Daniel and there’s a bit of a hiccup before they can work things out, but Ms. Flockton does in the end give us a glorious HEA. Thankfully so, because Daniel and Rochelle are perfect as a couple and their love story was a pleasure to read. 4 stars

~Complimentary copy received in exchange for a honest review.

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