I found this story well-written, with a fresh, novel voice for this genre. Not all the dialogue and characters are "what you might expect". (Example..Show More »s: I really enjoyed the way Clara's inner life, her thoughts and sense of humor are written, and the love-story aspect of it is not drowned in cliche'). The characters become very real because they are warm-hearted, engaging and compelling. The heroine and other main characters are quite believable. To me the narration was pretty much perfectly suited to Clara and the other characters throughout. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the difference between a story that does draw you in and feels truly heartfelt and one that does not, but this story definitely has it, and I highly recommend it. My only minor complaint is that, after a lot of anticipation, I found the very end just a bit lackluster. Evidently, that was how the author felt she wanted to segue to a sequel at the time, but after the two most dramatic scenes toward the end, I felt it lacked the punch it could have had. Having said that, the characters have won me over and I will definitely be on board for the next installment!

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