top of page
N. N. Light

5 stars for Bouquet (Crescent Lake Winery) by @LucindaRace #laterinlife #romance #bookreview



Title: Bouquet, Book 6 Crescent Lake Winery

Author: Lucinda Race

Genre: Later in life second chance romance


Book Blurb:


Liza Bradford never dreamed she’d be a widow, raising two boys, and starting a business as an event planner. It wasn’t part of her life plan, but neither was crushing on the handsome Drew Cameron. Between being on the board of her family’s winery and running the kids around for summer activities, she doesn’t have one spare minute to date. Besides, she’s better at planning weddings for other couples than finding her own happily ever after. After all, she thought she had her one chance at true love.


Drew Cameron is good-looking and rich—and he fell hard for Liza the first time he laid eyes on her. He’s been patiently waiting until she was ready to go on a date, so she almost knocked him over when she asked him out first. He likes a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it. But he’s worried about her finances and the fact that he has the means to make her life effortless. As a bonus, her boys fill a void in his life he hadn’t realized being an only child had created.


Is Liza ready to move forward with her life and embrace love, or will Drew’s wanting to take care of her and the boys turn the sweet bouquet of their future to vinegar?


My Review:


A second chance blooms for widow Liza but will her insecurities crush love’s bouquet? Liza’s husband died five years ago yet she can’t picture herself dating another man. Who has time? Certainly not her, raising two rambunctious boys while running her wedding planning business. But a few random meetings with Drew change all that. With some nudging from her soon-to-be sister-in-law and other family members, she asks him out for a drink. Things just seem to click with him, but Liza’s insecurities and independence keep her heart protected. If she opens her heart to Drew, what does that mean for her sons? They agree to take their relationship slow and easy. Every roadblock Liza puts up, Drew and her talk through it. He’s the most patient man and claims to love her but can Liza believe him? Can she truly find a second chance at love?


Bouquet is a beautiful modern-day romance about second chances, finding love later in life, and family. Throughout this series, I’ve watched Liza grow and I knew her time to find love would come. Drew is the perfect match for Liza for many reasons but mainly for his ability to reach her when she retreats into her shell. Liza deals with a lot throughout this book and each time she overcomes something, I cheered. The kids are adorable characters, well-written with an authentic feel, and they brought an honesty I found refreshing. The topic of diabetes is well described and presented in a way that reflects life. The romance is slow-burn but considering the heroine, it’s the right choice. I enjoyed watching Liza and Drew fall in love, become a couple then a family before getting their HEA. If you are a fan of realistic single-mom romance, pick up Bouquet. If you’re looking for a romance with all the feels, you’ll want to read Bouquet. Brilliantly written, Lucinda Race is an author on the rise. Perfect for fans of Hallmark Channel romances. Highly recommend!


My Rating: 5 stars


Buy it Now:










Author Biography:


Award-winning and best-selling author Lucinda Race is a lifelong fan of romantic fiction. As a young girl, she spent hours reading romance novels and getting lost in the hope they represent. While her friends dreamed of becoming doctors and engineers, her dreams were to become a writer—a romance novelist.


As life twisted and turned, she found herself writing nonfiction but longed to turn to her true passion. After developing the storyline for The Loudon Series, it was time to start living her dream. Her fingers practically fly over computer keys she weaves stories about strong women and the men who love them.


Lucinda lives with her two little dogs, a miniature long hair dachshund and a shitzu mix rescue, in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts. When she's not at her day job, she’s immersed in her fictional worlds. And if she’s not writing romance novels, she’s reading everything she can get her hands on.


Social Media Links:




Lucinda’s Heart Racers Reader Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/118597305361578



Reviewed by: Mrs. N

bottom of page