LEAN ON ME – HelenKay Dimon
Carina Press – www.carinapress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-426-89451-0
October 2012
Contemporary Romance

Holloway, West Virginia – Present Day

It's been three years since mountain climber (and former town resident) Cassidy Clarke dissed her hometown in an article, despite an apology afterwards. Now she's back and people in town aren't exactly welcoming her with open arms. It doesn't help that her stepfather doesn't want her to stay at the house she once lived in, so Cassidy is forced to bunk wherever she can. This includes secretly camping on the grounds of the nursery co-owned by hunk Mitch Anders and his friends.

Mitch's life is fairly ho-hum until he comes face to face with his former high school crush, Cassidy. It doesn't take him long to figure out she's the one camping on the nursery grounds at night. Cassidy is prickly and doesn't want to talk to him much, which he supposes is mainly because the townsfolk treat her like a pariah. Cassidy's life has been drained of trusting anyone anymore, so Mitch has a hard task ahead of him. As he continues to push to get reacquainted with her, the more she begins to open up to him. Slowly and surely, Mitch and Cassidy drift into a relationship, but she's made it clear that once everything is figured out, she's moving on. But Mitch doesn't want Cassidy to leave…

Cassidy left Holloway as soon as she could on a quest to achieve her goal of climbing every mountain. While it brought her fame and some money, a crooked investment adviser drained her of her money—and her self confidence. She's hit bottom and thought coming back to Holloway—despite knowing she wasn't popular—would help her reconnect with her stepfather and the home she grew up in. In high school Mitch thought Cassidy was beautiful and could walk on water, but when she moved on, so did he. But the moment he realizes that she's back in town, the attraction for her is rekindled. Can he gain her trust—and love? Will Cassidy even agree to stay in a town where she is mocked and reviled?

With LEAN ON ME, HelenKay Dimon has penned a sexy modern tale of a woman who is down and out and doesn't know where to turn, so she returns home. After her stepfather boots her out, she doesn't know what to do, so camping out is her only option. Mitch secretly figures it out and uses that to get closer to her. He wants to win the woman who got away. But is Cassidy going to let herself be caught? Readers might feel a bit sorry for Cassidy, but know that she is a strong, independent woman who just needs the temporary assistance of Mitch. The writing is crisp and fast paced, and the romance slowly builds as Mitch finally stakes his claim.

A terrific read from one of the brightest contemporary writers today, make LEAN ON ME a part of your year in reading.

Patti Fischer