Publishers Weekly
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Hodges's warm-hearted and entertaining romance balances the hero and heroine's opposing perspectives as sparks fly. Feisty Crystal Hughes is determined to carry on her family's farming legacy; they had the first African-American-owned farm in Duval, N.C., on land their ancestors worked as sharecroppers. When megacorp Welco tries repeatedly to buy Crystal's land, she demands to meet with heartless CEO Douglas Wellington III and tell him to back off. It's mutual lust at first sight, but Douglas also has family obligations: his father's dying wish was for Welco to build a business park on Hughes' land. Crystal and Douglas's attraction leads to romance and a trusting truce-but Welco's board won't stand for that, and a longtime Wellington/Hughes feud soon comes to light. The story is a little predictable, but hot sex, some delightful humor, a dollop of mystery, and engaging characters make this a book readers will love. Agent: Sha-Shana Crichton, Crichton & Associates. (May 7) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Using romance cliches and often-stilted language, Hodges pits two small-town African American adversaries against each other over a family farm. Organic farmer and community do-gooder Crystal Hughes is threatened by scion Douglas Wellington III when his development company wants to buy her land to build a business park. Since Hughes Farm was the first African American land owned in the county and now suppports a house for wayward girls, Crystal refuses to sell it. Douglas, pressured on the one hand by a gung-ho board of directors and on the other by his godfather, is adamant about building there. In between is their instant attraction to each other, which forces long-held grudges and long-buried family history to emerge as others get wind of Crystal and Douglas' growing love. Plagued by anomalies and inconsistencies, this romance will frustrate readers.--Henshaw, Pat Copyright 2010 Booklist