Now and Then and Always

Written by Melissa Tagg

Narrated by Nancy Peterson

Last year, after traumatic circumstances forced her from her job as a nanny, Mara Bristol finally found a place to belong—the winsome Everwood Bed & Breakfast at the edge of Maple Valley, Iowa. For months, she's helped its owner, Lenora, maintain the ramshackle property despite their shortage of guests. But when Lenora fails to return from a month-long trip and the bank threatens foreclosure, Mara worries she's once again alone . . . abandoned . . . about to lose the only true home she's ever known.



Detective Marshall Hawkins is no closer to whole today than he was two years ago . . . the day his daughter died. Between his divorce, debilitating migraines, and a dependence on medication, his life is falling apart. And when a reckless decision on the job propels him into administrative leave, he has no other plan but to get in his truck and drive. A one-night stay at the Everwood was supposed to be just that. But there's something about the old house—or maybe its intriguing caretaker—that pulls him in.



Together, Mara and Marshall set out to save the Everwood. But its secrets run deeper than they could've imagined. As they renovate the house and search for its missing owner, they'll each confront the pain that brought them to the Everwood in the first place . . . and just maybe discover a faith and love to help them carry on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781541436435

Melissa Tagg

Melissa Tagg, author of Made to Last and Here to Stay, is a former newspaper reporter, current nonprofit grant writer, and total Iowa girl. When she's not writing, she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever. She's passionate about humor, grace, and happy endings. Melissa blogs regularly at www.melissatagg.com.

[Ann Bush · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Romance and fun is what I expect in a Melissa Tagg book and this one certainly delivers!

[debs4jc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really got sucked into this audiobook, I was rooting for Mara to find strength, wholeness, and faith. Mara is hiding away in an old bed and breakfast called The Everwood when we first meet her, hardly able to get out and go into town. She is forced to when foreclosure papers arrive, and when she finally admits that the absent owner of the Inn is not returning. Mara has a stalker, so she had good reason to be wary, but when a man named Marshall shows up in the middle of a storm, she may have to let her defenses down.
Meanwhile we get Marshall's side of the story as well - he is reeling after the death of his daughter and the breakup of his marriage, and he feels the need to get away and see if he can survive without the drugs that he has been relying on. That road trip leads him to the Everwood, where he and Mara may just find healing together - along with a long buried mystery that needs solving.
I loved the personal growth of the characters in this book, the slow burning romance, and some of the mystery aspects, but that part of the book could have been better structured in my opinion. Still I would like to try more books by this author, this one was the first I've read by her and it definitely shows promise.