The Fountain of Infinite Wishes: Dare River: Book 5

***I was given an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.*** I have been waiting forever it seems for this latest installment from Ava Miles!!! The wait was worth it!!! I loved Vander from the beginning, you can't help but to love him really. He's going through some tough things when he is hired by Shelby to find her father. Shelby and her siblings always wondered where he had gone and why, but their mother wouldn't speak of it!! What a mystery!!! I loved watching these two fall for each other.

This book actually gets 4.5 stars from me. The Fountain of Infinite Wishes is the latest installment in the Dare River series by Ava Miles. Once again, Ms. Miles has brought us a phenomenal story. I absolutely loved this book. While I’m personally more like Sadie in temperament, I thoroughly enjoyed Shelby. She’s vivacious and daring without being too impulsive. Her personality just sparkles off the page. She and Vander are attracted to each other from the start, but Vander is resolute in his ethics and will not date her as long as she is a client. It makes for interesting meetings between the two of them at times. Both characters are well-developed, complex characters. We learn a lot about their beliefs and hopes and past lives. They rely on each other for support and comfort even when they don’t realize they’re doing so; even before they started dating. The only thing that disappointed me was how shocked and appalled the characters were upon meeting someone who is morbidly obese. I realize that’s not how these characters choose to live their lives, but their reactions to me seemed too harsh. I would have thought that their mama, being a reverend, would have had them do service work in poor areas similar to the one this person lived in; that they would have been more used to dealing with those situations and feelings than they seemingly were. They did show compassion to the person, but their reactions almost seemed more harsh with that than they were towards the horrible reason why their father left (which was far worse, but I won’t spoil it). However, that was just a short piece of the story. While it disappointed me, the story and the characters generally were just wonderful. That piece is the only reason why this story didn’t receive 5 full stars because I simply loved the rest of the story. I enjoy the Dare River setting and characters. In fact, I think it’s my favorite out of the three series Ms. Miles writes, so I always enjoy “coming home” to these stories and characters. I enjoy the fact that even this particular story is about Shelby and Vander, we see the rest of the family from time to time. Some more than other of course, but we get a glimpse at all the extended family which made me happy. The descriptions of the various settings in this book balance well with the descriptions of the characters. Ms. Miles is very talented in that way. She gives us enough detail that we can imagine the scene, but doesn’t over saturate the scene in our own imaginations. The story line moved along at a decent pace. I was pleased that Vander didn’t ask Shelby out until after he’d finished with finding her father. It was one of his many fine qualities. I also appreciated the way the family gathered around each other upon learning the horrible reason their father left. I was very happy to see that they didn’t take their negative feelings out on one another, but rather found comfort from each other. If you enjoy stories about family, people finding each other, friendship, and a bit of romance, I’d highly suggest picking up this title. Enjoy! [I received a free ecopy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and conclusions expressed are my own.]

Hold on to your heartstrings ... The Fountain of Infinite Wishes takes on the subject of secrets in the way only Ava Miles can. Prepare to hold tight to your heartstrings as this wonderful story will tug them really hard. It has a beauty and strength we have come to expect from Ava with resilient characters with a clear moral compass. I couldn’t stop reading! I was given an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.