Grayson Blake and his brother have come home to Honey Ridge, Tennessee to turn an old gristmill into one of their up-and-coming restaurants. Grayson has a strict schedule he plans to stick to, no matter what. Time is money, after all. But when an old skeleton is found in the basement of the mill, his schedule comes to a screeching halt.

Valerie Carter is a former ballet dancer and now co-owner of a charming inn in Honey Ridge. The secrets from her past haunt her, as does the love of the dance she still yearns for. Regret and memories threaten to overwhelm her, when she meets Grayson and finds herself swept into a Civil War-era mystery that ties the skeleton in the mill with her beloved Peach Orchard Inn.

I didn’t realize The Innkeeper’s Sister was part of a series when I started reading. Fortunately, it’s also a standalone, so readers who haven’t read the other books will be fine. I’m from the South, and this novel is Southern through-and-through, from the sweet iced tea to the everything-is-perfect façade put on by Valerie’s mother. Both Grayson and Valerie have faced tragedy in their lives, tragedy they are still struggling to overcome. There are two storylines here: the modern-day one of Valerie and Grayson, and the Civil War one that tells the story of the skeleton in the mill. Both lend depth to each other, and strengthen the family bonds of the Carters. An uplifting story about characters that are flawed and struggling to find their strengths while overcoming their weaknesses.

(Galley provided by Harlequin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

*Also reviewed on Amazon.*

This wasn't the easiest read for me. There's such pain and loss shown by 2 mothers - 1 modern day, 1 in the 1860s - and my heart hurt for them. The author makes the emotions so real without seeming overwrought or melodramatic. It's interesting seeing that while the circumstances of the mothers are so different that the grief is the same. It was so beautifully done that while it was difficult for me to read it added heart and depth to the characters.

Grayson and Valery are both interesting characters. Grayson has always been the more serious quiet brother compared to his more adventurous outgoing brother Devlin. I did really enjoy the brother relationship. Either could have resented the other but they didn't and they worked together incredibly well. Valery's relationship with her family is a little more complicated. It's clear early on that they don't have much faith in her ability to be reliable or serious but it wasn't clear for a long time as to why exactly that is and honestly I thought that her family - especially her mother - wasn't being fair to her or considering all the good she had done. Her past actions clearly still haunt Valery and it seems like her mother holds a grudge for something that doesn't really make sense. The guilt Valery isn't the most logical emotion but I did understand why she felt that way and it was easy to see how she had drifted into more self-destructive behavior.

I loved watching Grayson and Valery start to develop a relationship. They were so good for each other though they both have a hard time admitting that they need anyone. As well, I was captivated by the historical story line. Typically when an author has 2 timelines going I greatly prefer one to the other. This was not the case here and I was completely caught up in both story lines and connected with all the characters. This is the 3rd in the Honey Ridge series but this is one you could jump in anywhere. I've read the 2nd and now the 3rd and loved them both and never felt that I had any problems understanding what was going on or just who everyone was.

If you love contemporary fiction that focuses on emotional connections and isn't afraid to tackle some very serious issues this is a series and a book that you must not miss.

The Innkeeper’s Sister is a lovely and emotionally fraught story that is told in parallel in two very distinct timelines – and in both stories the heroine is the sister of the owner of the Peach Orchard Inn. Although in the earlier, post-Civil War timeline, the Peach Orchard Inn was still the Peach Orchard Farm. But both Valery Carter in the early 21st century and Patience Portland in the late 19th are sisters to the women who own Peach Orchard, and who have already found a second chance at happiness after a first brush with tragedy.

In the 21st Valery Carter seems to be a good-time girl who can’t be counted on to handle any responsibilities that are handed to her. It’s a picture that is both right and wrong, but if Valery continues on her current self-destructive path, is going to end with that perspective being all right all the time. Until she drowns.

Into her life and her sister’s inn walks Grayson Blake, a one-time resident of Honey Ridge who now develops run-down historic properties into attention-getting five-star restaurants with the help of his brother Devlin. The old gristmill across from the Peach Orchard Inn is one such property, and the Blake Brothers have big plans for it.

Plans that are temporarily delayed when a poke at the rotting basement flooring turns up a human skeleton. The project goes on hold while the wheels grind through the process of determining, if not whose bones they were, at least when those bones were laid down and hidden under the floorboards.

Valery and especially her sister Julia are petrified that the bones might belong to Julia’s missing son Mikey, now lost for nine long, heartbreaking years. And that possibility sends Valery into a tailspin of guilt, grief and remorse.

But the time Grayson is forced to spend at Honey Ridge also unearths the crush that Grayson and Valery unknowingly had on each other back when they were teens. They’re not teens any more, and the mutual admiration and respect they felt then has blossomed into much, much more. Even though Grayson thinks that he’s much too staid and boring for a flirty party-girl like Valery.

And Valery is equally certain that the secrets in her past as well as the problems in her present make her unworthy of the love of a good man like Grayson.

But just as Valery has to reveal her secret burdens in order to reach for healing and happiness, so the secrets buried under the old mill have to come to light, so that the ghosts of that past can finally be laid to rest.

Escape Rating B: This is the third book in the Honey Ridge series, after The Memory House and The Rain Sparrow. I have not read the previous books, but based on their descriptions, they both follow the same pattern – that there is a romance in the present and a mystery to be solved in the past. The past mystery arises because of artifacts that are discovered at the Inn that involve the present day participants in something fascinating that they just can’t let go of.

And both those stories, particularly The Rain Sparrow that features a novelist and a librarian, sound lovely. I haven’t read either of them yet but I’m looking forward to it. That being said, I don’t think it’s necessary to read the series in order – I’m obviously not – but the previous stories, particularly their historical bits, sounded fascinating and I was a bit sorry to have missed them. At least so far.

The two stories in The Innkeeper’s Sister are different in substance, but both have some very serious and angsty issues to deal with. The story in the past is explicitly NOT a romance, but the story in the present is certainly centered around one.

Valery has a ton of issues to resolve, starting with but far from limited to her alcoholism. If she doesn’t get to the heart of her problems, she really isn’t a good match for Grayson, and they both know it. And for Valery to get to the heart of issues, first she has to let them out into the light of day, something that is incredibly difficult for her, for reasons that are made clear within the story. She has a lot of work to do, and it takes her a long and difficult time to figure out how to get to it.

While it is normally a plus when an author is able to misdirect readers away from the heart of a mystery, I will say that it worked a bit too well in Valery’s case. The depth of her guilt over the abduction of her nephew Mike was so searing and so overpowering that I spent a lot of reading time convinced that Mikey had been in her care at the time and had been lost through her neglect. This was not the case, but the way she processed her grief and layered her guilt on top of it made the real reason for this part of her angst feel a bit anticlimactic for this reader.

The story in the past was beautiful and fascinating. Benjamin Portland’s journey to find his long-lost brother, and what he discovered about himself, his family, and the differences between hope and reality for former slaves after the end of the Civil War, was an eye-opener for him and and excellent way of making the past come alive for the reader. I’m looking forward to this element very much in the other books.

The third in a series and as I said before I believe that in this series you need to start at square one, so if you haven't read this series from the beginning and want to stay away from any spoilers, you may want to avoid this review.

Ok. I am officially in love with this series and in the deepest part of my heart I want it to go on for a long time! Each book so far has had two story lines, one in the present about an innkeeper and her occupants and her family with this one focusing on her sister and then a historical storyline that started during the Civil War and has now taken it into Emancipation time and the effects on the people of the country with this change in how things work.

In this book in particular, I loved the relationship between the two stories and loved that they really connected, but at the same time I felt as though the historical storyline was lacking until the very end when three chapters in a row focused on that part of the story. In the previous books the chapters and stories flowed and seemed equal, as in both previous books I loved both stories I was disappointed that the historical storyline felt a little backburner.

What helped for me in this book was that I more than completely adored the present storyline. We had met Valery in the previous two books, so it was so easy to sink into her story and get completely attached to her and her journey. I loved learning more about her and even Julia the innkeeper through her sister's story.

I hope there are more books to come, does anyone know if there is more after this?

This is the second book in this series I have read. It is a great book. I enjoyed it very much. I look forward to many more in this series.

This is book 3 in the Honey Ridge series and as always with this series you are dealing with some heavy emotional issues. This book touches on alcoholism and how it can upset many lives. Grayson is returning to Honey Ridge to open a restaurant in an old abandoned Grist Mill and help out the town with jobs and tourists. When the workers find a skeleton during the renovation it threatened to shut down the project and effect many of the families in Honey Ridge. Valerie is one of the people effected and together they work to overcome issues and help out themselves and the town. Honey Ridge seems like a town you would like to visit. Hope there are more tales from the Tennessee mountains.

The Innkeeper's Sister was an engaging story, although slow-paced and slightly repetitive. The book would have been much better if it was more concise. There was history, mystery, and romance enough to satisfy anyone. The books spans two eras - time shortly after the US Civil War and present day.

Two sisters run a bed and breakfast across the road from a run-down mill, which is being renovated into a restaurant. Human remains discovered in the mill, old piano sheet music found and the sound of a piano player all lead the reader on a journey to discover what happened decades earlier.

One thing I like about romance novels is that they have happy endings. Nevertheless, I like the endings to be realistic and sometimes, particularly with books that try to be more than just romance novels, I think the authors sometimes twist themselves (or the story) into knots to get the happy endings. Things just don't add up, too many abnormal things happen and then voila, happy ending!

The Innkeeper's Sister is part of a series that introduced us to two missing boys--one from the Civil War era and one from the modern era. This story tells us what happened to one of them, and the author's note says that she didn't tell us about the other because it just didn't seem realistic. I think that took courage on her part as it would be very easy, and very unrealistic, to write the story with both boys being found.

In the other Honey Ridge books Valery is the drunken sister; the one who doesn't shoulder her share of the weight because she is always hung over. In this book we learn about her demons and how she has not let them keep her from helping a sister she felt needed her. We also watch her confront those demons and move past them into a promising future (its a romance novel after all).

Like the other Honey Ridge books there is one story set in the modern day (Valery and Grayon's story of course) and one set in the Civil War era.

I enjoyed the book and the series and based on the author's note, I suspect this will be the last Honey Ridge book, unfortunately.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: A.

When Valery Carter’s career as a ballet dancer went up in flames, she stared over in Honey Ridge, Tennessee as co-owner of the Peach Orchard Inn. She smiles and goes through her day as if everything s fine, but inside, she’s still broken up over the loss of her career, and turns to alcohol to help her forget. Grayson Blake has come home to Honey Ridge to turn an old gristmill into a restaurant, but when renovations bring to light a skeleton, his plans, and his dreams, are on hold. A mystery from the Civil War, a lost and damaged woman and a strong, kind and patient hero make this a wonderful read. Goodnight takes readers away from the ordinary and into the lovely world of Honey Ridge