Title: A Love in the Vines
Author: Hannah Haywood
Date: 2023
Quote: "John, I've seen it...the way you look at Claire."
Two years after his first wife died when he wrecked their car, John wants to believe he and Claire are just good friends. But he has a daughter, and Claire is such good stepmother material...
I think this story deserved more careful writing. It's written the way I tend to write outlines. The writer tells readers, rather than shows them, what the characters did and the story is extremely terse, but not in a good clean minimalist way, more of a blurry spread-too-thin sort of way. In a news report it's all right to say "They dropped the charges against the thief and she preached a regular sermon on forgiveness and reconciliation," but in a romance novel, where atmosphere and the nuances of communication are all readers can be reading for...
If terse works for you, you will enjoy A Love in the Vines. It qualifies as a Christian novel because Claire not only identifies as a Christian but speaks publicly about her beliefs. It's a sweet, clean, wholesome small town romance with a kiss that might reach glasses-steaming intensity if the child weren't watching and interrupting.
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