A lesson learned... and Books #34,35 & 36: Dakota Trilogy

If ever I was going to get a lesson on the implications of picking up the first book in a trilogy, then this was it! This year's Easter Weekend was spent on the beautiful, idyllic, and rather quaint island of Salt Spring, in the Gulf Islands off the BC mainland, Canada.

Lonely Planet

 We stayed at Between the Covers, a book lovers B&B, that suited me perfectly. Shelves of books, piles of books, windowsills of books - which one was I to choose?

 It turned out, that of all the books on offer in our "Fiction Room", Dakota Born, by Debbie Macomber caught my eye, particularly when I noticed it was the first in a trilogy. [I have signed up to the 1st in a series challenge hosted by A Few More Pages, and had yet to make a start!]

It turned out to be a dangerous choice. I was instantly hooked - and when a book reels me in like that, I can't get enough of it. Nor could I get enough of book number two, or three for that matter!

Set in the North Dakota prairie town of Buffalo Valley, the Dakota Trilogy is the story of a town that is dying. Shops are boarded up, families are moving away, and very few members of the younger generation want to stay in 'small town USA', instead seeking the excitement of city lights further away.

Enter, Lyndsay Snyder. A girl from the big city, who's looking to head in the opposite direction. She wants to escape the big city, and with family ties to Buffalo Valley, takes up the position of teacher at the local high school. So begins Dakota Born, the story of Lyndsay, what she offers Buffalo Valley, and what Buffalo Valley offers her.

It's a sweet story. Relatively predictable - you know she's eventually going to end up with her handsome beau - but you can't quite work out what she's going to encounter along the way, which is why I couldn't put it down.

I was hoping the second book would continue in the same vein, however, it instead tells the story of another new Buffalo Valley resident. Although slightly disappointed to begin with, I realised that Debbie Macomber's approach worked. Lyndsay's story had already been told, so it was someone else's turn in #2: Dakota Home. Ditto in #3: Always Dakota.


I've since had my fill of Macomber's Dakota residents, which takes me back to a blogging discussion about the perfect length of a series, and I'd have to say a trilogy is it for me. So if you're looking for an easy read, one that will capture you hook, line, and sinker - then I'd definitely recommend the Dakota Trilogy.