Title:  Small Town Secrets
Series:  Secrets of Cherry Lake #0 prequel
Author:  Roxanne Snopek
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  August 24, 2015
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Owned, Kindle Edition
Cover Description:

The graduating class of Cherry Lake High School is celebrating their freedom with the traditional camp-out in the Jackson Cherry Orchard on the banks of Flathead Lake, Montana. Among the revelers are four cousins, the grandchildren of town founder and patriarch Nate Jackson, a man who knows first-hand how a life can change on grad night and the personal sacrifices that may be necessary months later.

Joining him on his annual vigil as twilight descends is Pansy Oppenheimer, a free spirit, who left Cherry Lake after graduation to wander the world. She mysteriously returns years later when Nate needs her friendship the most. As they keep watch at the edge of the orchard, they reminisce about their lives and choices; none of them easy, but all of them necessary. Nate and Pansy feel that they are guardians of the town, its children and keepers of their secrets.

Little does anyone know that they harbor a secret of their own…

Read on for my thoughts on Small Town Secrets.  No true spoilers, promise.

What a beautiful, nostalgic way to begin a new series.  Pansy and Nate.  What sweethearts… and love is ageless.  In Small Town Secrets we are introduced to the small town of Cherry Lake.  Small… it wasn’t even an official town back when Nate and Pansy were young.  Oh, how times and life has changed.

Told through flashback chapters and jump ahead chapters, Small Town Secrets reads more like finding an old journal in your grandparents’ attic.  A peek, a whisper, an oh so careful look into the past of people who seem so different now from what they were “back then”.  We are given a love story, a couple who loved but were not meant to be.  Life was so very different in 1956, then a man like Nate would make choices that would knowingly, and unknowingly, change the paths of loved ones forever.  Nate chose what was best for his family.  Pansy knew what his choice would be before he even made it.  She slipped away and lived her life of wandering, caring for those in need, a free spirit her entire life.  But she knew there was one man she could have put up her wandering shoes for, now she’s come back to Cherry Lake to discover if she could stay and harm none or if she must travel for the rest of her days.

In this prelude story to the series, we are given a slight overview of Nate’s children and grandchildren.  Oh, not enough to really know them, I suspect that will come later.  Just enough to recognize them for now and a little background of their personalities.  What comes out strong though is the love that Nate and Pansy share.  Some things do last a lifetime, even the better part of a lifetime apart.  The heart knows, that’s all that truly matters.

I am looking forward to discovering this new small town and all of it’s secrets.  I did notice that Cherry Lake isn’t too far from Boozman, which means that Marietta, Montana is nearby as well.  I had a sweet smile on my face when I realized just how “in the general neighborhood” we will be to old friends.

Look for the rest of the series over the coming weeks and months.  The Secret Son by Joan Kilby  –  Her Secret Love by Paula Altenburg  –  Her Secret Protector by Roxanne Snopek  –  The Secret Bride by Jeannie Watt

If you enjoy series then this prequel is the perfect place to start your journey to Cherry Lake.  I can’t wait to meet new neighbors, new couples and the adventures they’ll have.

Available for the Kindle