Review: "Farm to Mabel: The Complete Duet" by Krista Sandor

Farm to Mabel: The Complete Duet by Krista Sandor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm generally not a fan of duets (because cliffhangers), but Krista Sandor could re-write the phone book and I'd probably read (and love) it, so when I found out that she was re-releasing the Farm to Mabel duet as a single volume, I was all in! I'm so glad I gave this duet a chance because I absolutely adored it.

The first couple chapters of book 1, "Farm to Mabel," were honestly heartbreaking as protagonists Mabel Ruth Muldowney and Callan "Cal" Horner struggled to come to terms with the sudden death of Mabel's older brother Jamie, who had been Cal's best friend. Jamie was the only person who ever really understood and supported Mabel, and without him, life with her stoic farmer father in the tiny town of Elverna, Illinois was no longer bearable. When the story picks up four years later, Mabel has relocated to New York City and is trying to make it as a fashion and lifestyle influencer known as Bella Mae. Unfortunately, her dreams are shattered when she's outed as a fraud and she's forced to move back home to Elverna to regroup.

Meanwhile, Cal's been back in Illinois doing his best to implement his late best friend's plans to turn the town into an organic farming haven, but marketing efforts for their new farmer's market haven't exactly paid off with customers. When Mabel returns, she accidentally talks her way into a job developing a marketing and PR strategy for Elverna's farmers co-op. It's not exactly her dream job, but the money is her ticket out of town. The only problem is that she'll have to work closely with Cal, the head of the co-op, to develop and implement the plan. Mabel and Cal were close as kids but haven't gotten along since they were teenagers, when he pushed her away for some unknown reason. Can they overcome their animosity for the sake of the town?

The chemistry and tension between Mabel and Cal were fantastic from the start. I could practically see the sparks between them flying off the page! Once they stopped fighting each other and started working together, their relationship was ridiculously cute, and I found it very easy to root for them to overcome the obstacles that stood in the way of their eventual HEA. In addition, I loved how much each of their characters grew over the course of the two books, as well as the plot twists that kept me guessing until the very end.

In summary, Mabel and Cal's story gave me all the feels, and I highly recommend it for all contemporary romance and romantic comedy fans. I can't wait to get my hands on whatever Krista Sandor writes next.

*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

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