The Comeback of Conn MacNeill

Sweet Home Carolina #3

by Virginia Kantra

"A business consultant takes a temporary job in a small North Carolina town to help a struggling restaurateur get her eatery out of the red. Hidden secrets, however, make his task infinitely more difficult. Ms. Kantra's vibrant characters, engrossing plot and excellent pacing make the pages fly." - Romantic Times Book Reviews

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Romantic Suspense

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra is the author of thirty books of women's fiction, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.

Kindred spirits and Anne of Green Gables fans, look for Anne of a Different Island , coming January 20, 2026.

Her latest release, The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale , a contemporary reimagining inspired by Dorothy's adventures in Oz, follows Kansas graduate student Dee Gale as she flees personal heartbreak and public humiliation to enroll in the writing program at Trinity College Dublin (the Emerald Isle!).

Meg and Jo , a contemporary novel inspired by the classic story Little Women, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and was a People Magazine pick.

Beth and Amy (May 25, 2021) "continues her delightful 21st-century retelling of Little Women...Kantra’s compulsively readable update will attract a whole new group of readers, as well as satisfy Alcott devotees."—Publishers Weekly

Her stories have earned numerous awards including two Romance Writers of America's RITA (R) Awards, ten RITA nominations, and two National Readers' Choice Awards.

Carolina Dreaming, the fifth book in her Dare Island series , won the 2017 RITA (R) Award for Best Contemporary Romance - Midlength and was named one of BookPage's Top Ten Romance Novels of 2016. Her work includes the popular Children of the Sea series and, in e-book format, The MacNeills stories.
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Reviews

[Janeiowa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms Kantra has written a great second novel in the MacNeill series. Conn MacNeill is the main character. The female character is Val Cutler who has come back to the family's town of Cutler, N.C.

Val works to be independent and her own woman in a town that has two very powerful people wanting her to fail...her father, the head of the bank, and Rob, the local former high school hero who now works for the bank.

[Mary Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Comeback of Conn MacNeill" is a quick, easy read. I liked Val, the strong minded owner of a restaurant and Conn, a northerner who has accepted a job investigating Val's restaurant to find out why it isn't making a profit. There is a lot of action and conflict in the story which makes it appealing. This book should be read before "Mad Dog and Annie."

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Both ‘hippy’ Val and uptight ‘Yankee’ Conn appear to be such broad stereotypes in each other’s eyes that it was hard to believe in such a quick romance when they spend over half the book not really seeing each other properly.

[Rosamund Churchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Another good storyline from the author. This one being about Conn, the middle brother, and his involvement in the life of the daughter of the bank owner, who was trying to help his daughter sort the financial status out of her restaurant. Few twists involved.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

We got home Friday evening and discovered the dog at the front door waiting for us. Why was this not delightful and charming, you ask? Because we had left her in her crate. Somehow she flipped her crate over, while inside it, so the latch holding the door slid down and the door came open. Then she hopped up on the kitchen counter which is what she does when she feels like being bad, broke a glass, and carried off an empty yogurt carton and settled down in her favorite spot on the rug in front of Brian's closet and proceeded to get it really clean. It had already been a long day and I had a cold, plus there was broken glass all over the kitchen and it was raining. So we ordered a pizza and I pulled this book out of the bookcase and slept like a baby.

All of which is to say, if you ever spend 8 straight hours fixing footnotes and reading about the history of marine insurance (which is every bit as boring as it sounds) while trying to blow your nose quietly because you're in the library and then come home to find a deviant hound and lots of broken glass, this is the book for you.

[Barbara Zachow · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hits just keep on com in' for Virginia Kantra's MacNeill brothers series. I have finished the first two, Patrick and Conn, and eagerly anticipate completing the trilogy next with Sean's story. The stories are rich with detail, but not too much, and the characters strong with "bruises" inflicted by their lives and choices. After the reader connects with these three brothers, do not hesitate to begin the Dare Island series as Kantra continues her winning ways with full-bodied stories of the folks who live and love on this North Carolina island.

[Hope Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. There were many twists and turns, but even at the beginning you were pretty sure you knew who the bad guy was, that wasn't really a mystery. The flow of the story was good, and the building of the characters was also good. The problem is...I didn't find anything extraordinary about any of it, it was just...good. That being said, I will be reading the next in this series, as this was a quick, easy read.

[Jenny From The Bog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kantra does it again

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and this second installment was really good. The MacNeill brothers are a lot of fun and the series puts me in mind of another one of my favorite series-the Chesapeake series by Nora Roberts.
I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice story. I liked the tension between Conn and Val and liked watching them realize they loved one another. There were a couple surprises I didn't see coming and overall I really enjoyed it. Definitely going to continue on in the series!

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Comeback of Conn MacNeill was a good read. The MacNeill brothers are fun and you can't help but love them. You can read this book without having to have read the first book, but Patrick's book was really good. I'm looking forward to Sean's book.

[Pam]

08/28/08 rec via pbs

[Sabrina Jeffries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kantra has a lush writing style that I really admire and characters who are well-rounded and believable. Not to mention that her MacNeill heroes are luscious enough to eat.

[Mollie *scoutrmom* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, excellent characters, plot suspense elements a bit lame. Nice if you come across it used or at the public library, not worth full price.

[KK · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun series! Can't wait for the rest to come out.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and straightforward and a pleasure to read - I went through this in two sittings.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the MacNeill Brothers' books.

[Glenda Bettin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good one

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars