A Jewel Lakes Novella, by Claire Wilder, September 2021.
* An e-ARC was provided by Booksprout and the author for an honest review.
Finding His Cheer by Claire Wilder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
FINDING HIS CHEER, A JEWEL LAKES HOLIDAY SPECIAL by Claire Wilder is a second-chance romance in the author’s JEWEL LAKES SERIES. It features neighbors Heath Bradley, a widower of three years and father of Ruby, and Morgan Carter, a potter and recent divorcee. Heath struggles to get over the death of his wife and tries providing a good home for his daughter, who is finding her voice again after remaining silent for a year after her mom’s death. Morgan hopes to have success with her pottery business, despite feeling like a pottery artist imposter. She needs to sell all of her pieces at the upcoming Christmas craft fair so she can pay her bills and not lose her cottage. Neither Heath nor Morgan is ready for love, but sometimes it comes when you least expect it.
PROS:
1. The main characters, though flawed, are good people who value their friends and families.
2. Ruby and Mousie (Morgan’s cat) are cute additions to the story.
3. The feelings of inadequacy and sadness Heath experiences since his wife died are definitely realistic, especially near a family-centric holiday.
4. The novella has an interesting plot and great secondary characters, and the main characters overcome their hesitancy to love again.
5. It’s a nice second-chance romance written in first person, past tense, frequently alternating between Heath and Morgan’s points of view.
CONS:
1. Heath and Morgan worry on and on about how they’re feeling about the other.
2. All of the inner dialogue takes up too much of the story. I’d rather read more scenes than all of the inner angst.
3. The sex scenes seemed like they were just dropped into the novella. I do like spicy books, but I think implied sex would have worked better here.
SUMMARY:
FINDING HIS CHEER, A JEWEL LAKES HOLIDAY SPECIAL, is a nice addition to the JEWEL LAKES SERIES. Its uplifting story, scenic lake setting, likeable main characters, and cute, exuberant Ruby help to make the hope-filled Christmas romance a strong 3.5 stars story. If you like character-driven stories, want to read all the books in the JEWEL LAKES SERIES, and/or like small town romances, then you should enjoy this novella.
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:
Other books in the JEWEL LAKES SERIES by Claire Wilder, BLUE MOON SERIES and BOOTLEG SPRINGS SERIES by Lucy Score, BOOTLEG SPRINGS SERIES and THE MILES FAMILY SERIES by Claire Kingsley, HEARTBREAKER BAY NOVELS and THE WILDSTONE SERIES by Jill Shalvis, BLUEGRASS SERIES and FOREVER BLUEGRASS SERIES by Kathleen Brooks
View all my reviews