Sweet, Small-Town Romance an Entertaining, Inspiring Read

 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Noah Mitchell never believed in love at first sight—until he met Josephine Dupree.  Despite the rumors swirling about the beautiful new girl in town, Noah is immediately smitten.  Josie is kind, beautiful, tenacious, and fun.  So she doesn't talk much about her past.  So he's only known her for a few months.  So what?  When it's right, it's right.  Noah can't wait to make her his bride.

Fast forward two years.  After a stinging betrayal, Noah and Josephine are divorced and pursuing separate lives in little Copper Creek, Georgia.  Noah lives on a remote ranch, preferring solitude to ever seeing his ex-wife again.  Josie sees plenty of men at the barbershop she owns, but she vows she'll never make the mistake of giving away her heart again.

When the two discover their divorce was never finalized, they're both shocked and angry.  Thrown together in an effort to end their marriage once and for all, Noah and Josie find themselves trapped at Noah's ranch in the middle of a freak Spring snowstorm.  As circumstances get more and more dire, the couple must learn to trust and rely on each other once again.  With the secrets of Josie's past finally coming to light, there's a new honesty between them.  Will it be enough to bring the embittered pair back together?  Or will it tear them further apart?

Sweetbriar Cottage, a Christian romance by Denise Hunter, is a light, compelling novel about family, forgiveness, and faith.  Although the leading characters are not all that unique or memorable, it's easy to care about them.  While I didn't find Josie super convincing, I did like that the rekindling of her romance with Noah felt realistic.  There was definitely a slow-burning chemistry between them that kept things interesting.  I generally find Christian fiction too preachy for me, but Sweetbriar Cottage had just the right amount of religion sprinkled throughout the story.  It's nice to read about a normal, everyday Christian character who's faithful without being a raving fanatic.  Overall, then, I enjoyed this fast, romantic read turned survival story.  It's entertaining and inspiring without being over-the-top.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't really think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

 

for disturbing subject matter (not overly graphic, but enough to merit a caution)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Sweetbriar Cottage from the generous folks at Thomas Nelson via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!