Book Review - Secretly Smitten

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Summer, fall, winter, spring-Smitten, Vermont, is the place for love . . . and mystery!

There's a secret in Grandma Rose's attic-a forgotten set of dog tags belonging to her first love. But David Hutchins was killed in action and never returned to Smitten. How did the dog tags end up in the attic?

The mystery intrigues Rose's three granddaughters-Tess, Clare, and Zoe-and they decide to investigate, though their mother, Anna, warns against meddling. But as the seasons turn and the mystery unravels, the three young women and their mother encounter some intriguing mystery men of their own. Has a sixty-year-old puzzle sparked something new for this close-knit family of women?

Join popular romance novelists-and real-life BFFs-Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter for four delightful intertwined tales of mystery and sweet intrigue.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

 

RITA-finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense novels, including "Tidewater Inn", and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series. * Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the ACFW Book of the Year award, Kristin Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. Her books include "A Billion Reasons Why" and "What a Girl Wants." * Denise Hunter is the award-winning and best-selling author of several novels, including "A Cowboy's Touch" and "Sweetwater Gap." She and her husband are raising three boys in Indiana. * Diann Hunt has lived in Indiana forever, been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, her dog, and, well, chocolate.

Find out more about Coble, Billerbeck, Hunter, Hunt here.

 

MY REVIEW:

This book was very interesting from the point of view that it was written by 4 different authors – each writing a section. Amazingly, the book flows flawlessly and just draws you in immediately.

This story is about a family of women – Grandma and her two sisters, Mom, and her three daughters. The story really revolves around the three daughters – Tess, Zoe, and Clare. Each of these sisters is very different from the next. Each is single and living a full life, but without that special someone. 

Tess owns a book store and feels like she is not attractive – especially with her mother pointing out that she is eating one too many cookies  - but she loves her book store and seems content. Things take a mysterious turn for Tess, and her whole family, when a family friend’s little girl find dog tags hidden in a hidey-hole in Tess’ Grandmothers attic. It turns out these dog tags once belonged to her Grandmother’s first love, who was killed in the Korean War. How did his dog tags end up in her attic? The little girl’s widowed father happens to own the house this man’s family lived in and Tess asks to explore his attic, which leads to romance.

Zoe is a free spirit who loves her family and community with abandon. She has had a lot of jobs and flits from one this to another, however, she finally decides to start a business of her own which brings her face-to-face with the new town manager, but not in a good way. After many twists and turns, Zoe realizes that he may not be as bad as she thought.

Clare is a steady woman who works in a nursery. She likes things to stay the same and has her routine down pat. When she decides to hire some help at the nursery, things definitely change in her world. The drifter steals her heart but she realizes he will just be on his way someday soon and doesn’t want to have the heartache. 

In all of these stories of love lost and love found, we see how God is working in these women’s lives. There is the story of forgiveness when one person has betrayed another, the trusting of God to see them through new situations in their life, the prodigal son, and how we need to live our lives for God first and trust Him to lead us the right way.

This was an excellent story that I read in one sitting. I just couldn’t put it down. I loved how the Lord was woven through the story in a real way in these people’s lives. I loved seeing the characters grow through uncomfortable situations and trust the Lord as they took steps of faith. Really a lovely book that I highly recommend. 

*This book was provided to me for my honest review by LitFuse Publicity Group

You can read more reviews HERE

You can purchase the book HERE

 

Blessings - Julie