Come home to Deep River

Ashenden (Sexy Beast) overloads her first Deep River, Alaska romance with back story and exposition at the expense of character development. After high school, Silas Quinn left his remote Alaskan hometown to join the army with his friend Cal West, leaving their mutual best friend, Hope Dawson, behind. Silas returns to Deep River 13 years later, after Cal's death. The West family have owned Deep River for generations, and Cal willed the entire town to Silas. Silas wants no part of it, but his plan to sign the town over to Hope and leave again is complicated by her own reluctance to take on more responsibility. Their reunion is tense, as they both harbor resentments, but they realize they'll have to work together to guide the community through the recent discovery of oil reserves underneath the town. The romance is tepid and slow-moving, and Silas and Hope spend so much time arguing that it's difficult to root for them to get together. Though the locals rallying against big oil and corporate development makes an interesting hook for future installments, this is a rocky start to the series. This edition includes a bonus story by Sharon Sala not seen by PW. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. (Aug.)