If You Cherish Me

A great short read, the story of Declan and Felicia. He needs a job and she needs some help in the plant nursery after being let down by her cousin. but someone is not happy that he is around and is trying to get rid of him. Can Felicia convince him to stay?

If You Cherish Me was an engaging romance, especially considering the "give people a second chance"-theme. As it's a romance, it's of course a bit predictable, but the plot had a few twists and turns to make it an interesting read.

Felicia is in the square preparing for the festival and the filming of Knox Brevard show and she needs some help after being let down again by her cousin Lacey and she knows just the man for the job. Declan has tried to get a job everywhere but he gets shut down and no one will hire him as he has a criminal record and the town folk are all against him except for the beautiful Felicia, he had all but given up when Felicia asks him for help and of course he says he's as he would do anything for her. There are twists and turns in this story along with betrayal, secrets, hope, forgiveness, love, second chances and never judge a book by its cover and I definitely recommend you read this book, series and other books by Ciara Knight as she is a brilliant author and writer and her books are definitely worth reading.
I voluntarily reviewed an Arc copy of this book.

If You Cherish Me by Ciara Knight
Publisher: Author Collective 20
Genre: Romance | Women's Fiction
Release Date: September 15, 2020

If You Cherish Me is the third book in the Sugar Maple series. I have not read the other books in the series. The first few pages had me wondering whether this would be a good standalone book or if I would need to have read the other books to understand the story. Thankfully, this is an incredible standalone book!

This was such a sweet story set in a small town. I loved the characters (Nana is my favorite!) and I look forward to reading the previous (& future) books in the series!

I'm so grateful to Ciara Knight, Author Collective 20, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Lovely addition to the Sweet Maple series, (which can also be read as a stand-alone book). Felicia is one of the towns fabulous five friends, her story involves an ex con but did he do the crime? She gives him a chance despite opposition from her friends and the town and romance follows. Love the descriptive writing in these books, can really visualise the colours and feel of the town. Looking forward to the next book.

I have read several books by Ciara Knight so I was expecting a well-written character driven story. Still If You Cherish Me exceeded every expectation that I had. The small town of Sugar Maple is not all sweet and kind. It has its fair share of those small-town prejudices that many authors avoid in their stories but can’t be avoided in real life. I think I like this series more because of that genuine aspect of the town.

The characters are often flawed, not just the main one either. Take Jackie for example, I am still having a hard time warming up to her but I am counting on the author to dig her deeply buried heart as Felicia puts it when the time comes for her story. Davey is another character that I struggle to like but oh how he reminds me of some old-timers in the small-town where I have lived for the past forty years. Ms. Knight certainly knows how the small-town society works!

Ex-con Declan Mills is not so flawed as he thinks he is. Neither is Felicia as perfect as she can seem to all around her. Together they help each other while bringing strength and love to themselves. It was a pleasure to watch these two make that discovery along with the personal growth in each.

I can easily and highly recommend If You Cherish Me. For realism and a sweetly romantic plot, it is pure enjoyment from start to finish.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First of all, I love the Sugar Maple series with the fab five, the elders and the newbies to the community. Ciara Knight takes several difficult social issues and brings them to life, handling them delicately and respectfully. If You Cherish Me is the best of this series and, possibly, the most difficult due to the social situations within the romance. Declan is a convicted felon whom Felicia hires to assist her in her business due to her cousin, Lacey, not doing her job. Felicia just needs help and is a collector of ‘strays.’

Felicia has had to deal with prejudice in her own life and does not want others to suffer from judgmental people. Thus, her desire to ‘help’ others. She decides to help Declan even with her friends and community against her decision. Felicia realizes fairly quickly Declan is innocent of his conviction and protecting someone.

I love the way Felicia tries to help others, definitely, the ‘negotiator’ we have seen in previous books in the series. Declan is just as amazing in his care of her and others, even when disappointed in them. They are a perfect match heading to their HEA. The secondary characters add that needed dimension and development to enhance this romantic tale adding to real life situatitons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Author Collective 20 for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
First things first, the cover! Absolutely loved this and it really hit the autumnal feels I’ve been craving. I could almost hear those golden leaves rustling and crunching.
This was my first read from Ciara Knight, but I’m delighted to discover that she has quite the backlist to now work my way through. From what I gather the author writes sweet and clean small town romances or cowboy romances. I most definitely tend to prefer my romances less spicy so this ticked that box for me.
Set in a small town called Sugar Maple (how autumnal is that!) it tells the story of a mixed race heroine and an ex-con hero so there’s a few diversity boxes ticked there as well. It is the story of second chances, not being too quick to judge and forgiveness. I found the writing easy flowing and I remained engaged and interested in the story. I can’t say any plot points took me by surprise but nonetheless I found it a very enjoyable read and would recommend to people who may like Debbie MaComber or Sherryl Woods. 3.5-4 stars.

Declan is in Sugar Maple trying to find a job so he can meet the rules of his parole. Felicia owns a nursery and needs help. She is also one to help anyone in need and she decides to hire Declan. Declan needs the job but does not feel worthy of her attention. He insists on working until he can find another job. It is obvious there is more to Declan than a prison sentence, but he is not interested in clearing himself. Lacey is being manipulated by her boyfriend and loses her job to Declan. She is determined to get rid of him. Declan’s actions speak volumes about who he is and the challenges in his life. Lots of action and a good story.

This book was good. I didn't know at the time it was part of a series but I think you could probably read this as a stand alone.

It is about Felicia who runs a garden nursery and ends up hiring Declan who is an ex con where nobody will hire him. Felicia keeps picking up waifs and strays so she can help them. She has her cousin Lacey working for her but she can't depend on her turning up for work.

This book kept me wondering what was going to happen would Felicia and Declan have a happy ever after or would Declan end up back in jail.

I would like to read the previous books as would like to know what happened to the woman in the town.

A very well written small town romance. A good plot and believable characters. A good quick read. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

If You Cherish Me is the third book in A Sugar Maple series and can be read as a stand-alone. It was well written, flowed smoothly, and kept my attention until the end. The characters were perfect for each other because they both felt like they were on the outside and didn’t belong. Declan Mills is an ex-con and is trying to find a job in the town of Sugar Maple before he breaks parole. No one in town will hire him until Felicia Hughes steps up and hires him to help her with her nursery farm. All of Felicia’s friends are against her hiring Declan but Felicia is determined to give him a chance and besides she needs the help. She has the nursery to take care of and her grandmother who recently had a stroke. Can they work together and keep Declan out of jail?

Declan is that man who will do anything for anyone. He has a big heart and will do anything to protect those he loves. The only problem is that he doesn’t see himself as worthy. He doesn’t believe in himself and puts up walls to protect himself from himself.

Felecia is one strong woman who has faced prejudice all her life. She trusts her feelings about people and knows when someone is telling her the truth. Declan has turned her life around because for the first time she finds herself actually falling for a man. This is not something that she is used to, she is not used to someone trying to protect her and cherish her. She has always been the one doing that so it is hard for her.

This story is one that could take place any where and at any time. The characters feel like real people, the ones who know, the ones you work with and the ones who are your family. You cannot help finding yourself rooting for Declan and Felecia and hope that they will find their happy ever after.