Scheming Heart by Ivy Layne

Rate: 5/5
Tropes: Family Series; Single Mom; Small Town; Suspense; Instant Connection
POV: Dual 1st Person
Series: The Hearts of Sawyers Bend Book 3

Ivy Layne is one of this authors that often flies under the radar. She should not! Her way around a story is extraordinary and more people should be raving about her books. This is book 3 of the series, and we have an over-arching story line of just what happened with the murder of their father Prentice Sawyer. There are a lot of characters in this book because of the nature of the family, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming. You get bits and pieces of the Sawyer Siblings, but at the same time they don’t overtake anything away from Tenn and Scarlett’s story.

Tenn sees Scarlett and has an instant connection to her, and can’t wait to explore that more. I adore the way that Tenn is with August, her son. Which is another point that I really enjoy about this story. The kids involved are present but not so much that you feel as though they overtake the story either. There is a little bit of suspense and mystery involved with the investigation about Prentice and some other things that happen in this story. But they are interwoven so well, and in a way you don’t expect that keeps you engaged.

Ivy Layne gives us a story that is full developed with characters that you want to spend more time with while also giving you an incredibly steamy romance. There are so many stolen moments with these two that are perfectly executed and organic in the way in which Layne writes them. You should read this series in order to fully grasp the mystery and chaos that Prentice Sawyer brings, but you don’t necessarily have to. This is a great addition to the Sawyer Bend series and I can’t wait to see where she takes us next.