Leaving November (Clayburn Novels Series #2) by Deborah Raney

Daughter of the town drunk, Vienne Kenney has escaped Clayburn for law school in California. But after failing the bar exam—twice—she is back home with her tail between her legs, managing Latte-dah, the Clayburn cafe turned upscale coffee shop. Jackson Linder runs the art gallery across the street and Vienne has had her eye on him since she was a skinny seventh grader and he was the hunk high school lifeguard who did not know she existed. Now it is his turn to fall for her and suddenly Clayburn seems like a pretty nice place to be...until Vienne discovers that Jack is fresh out of rehab and still struggling with the same addiction that ultimately killed her father.

My Review:
As a child of an alcoholic, I can relate to Vienne Kenney. She does not really want to return to painful memories of Clayburn, KS after her mother's stroke, but she must. The business, a cafe, needs attention. Vienne turns the lunchroom into an upscale coffee shop and names it Latte-dah and meets a bit of opposition from some in the small town. Romantic tension is provided by Jackson Linder, Vienne's high school crush, when he returns from rehab to reopen his art shop across the street. Jackson has problems of his own as he struggles to stay sober. Can Vienne overlook Jackson's past? Will her mother approve the changes in the cafe? Will there be enough business to keep these two new business ventures going?

This is the first book by Deborah Raney I've read, and what a delightful surprise it is! It will not be the last one of hers I read.