Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

romance

As good as any rom-com movie: Review of A Marriage in Middlebury by Anita Higman

Small town. Tea. Lost love. What’s not to like?

Anita Higman’s A Marriage in Middlebury is a sweet romance full of all the elements that make me sigh at a good romantic comedy. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the author in exchange for my review.)a-marriage-in-middlebury

First, there’s the likable, down-to-earth heroine. Charlotte Hill is the owner of Middlebury’s tea room, where she serves her customers with grace, humor and compassion, uniquely blending teas to fit their personalities. She’s a friend to all, including a young boy with a troubled family. She’d love to have a family of her own, but that ship sailed more than a decade earlier, when her high school love Sam asked her to marry him and she turned him down. Charlotte is delightful, the kind of heroine you think would be your friend, like Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping or Julia Roberts in just about anything.

Then there’s Sam Wilder, the gone-but-not-forgotten love who returns to Middlebury with a fiancée in tow. He’s not the hunky hero of some stories, but he, too, is a likable character. Think Bill Pullman. (For some reason I want to compare this book to While You Were Sleeping.) He’s caring and dependable and dedicated. You can almost see the chemistry between these two on the pages of the book. (I’m not always a fan of books-become-movies but I secretly wouldn’t mind seeing this one on the screen.)

The story is full of colorful side characters, too. There’s the old man atheist who winds up at Easter dinner with a room full of Christians. The mysterious homeless man who is good with plants. The single pastor being set up on blind dates by his parishioners. And the antique dealer who acts first and thinks later but with good intentions.

If that’s not enough to sell this book as a must-read, then consider the writing. In the first book I read by Higman, I was blown away by her use of metaphors. It holds true for this book, too. There’s a casual, friendly style to her writing but it’s full of spiritual insight without feeling forced. Higman’s insights about life and faith flow naturally through the story. I love reading what she writes.

 

How a question led to a story: Review of You Don't Know Me by Susan May Warren

Imagine you’re sitting on a plane and the woman sitting next to you is visibly upset. You’re naturally curious and compassionate, so you ask a question or two: How are you? and Why are you on this flight? The woman says she’s on the way to see her daughter, who is going into a federal witness protection program. She’s saying “good-bye.” Forever.

That happened to author Susan May Warren, and she turned the experience into a book, You Don’t Know Me, the sixth novel set in the fictional Minnesota town of Deep Haven. you dont know me cover

In the close-knit town, Annalise Decker is a devoted wife, supportive mother and community activist. Her husband is running for mayor, and life, from the outside, looks perfect. Then a federal agent shows up with news that could wreck her world: the man she testified against 20 years ago is out of jail and seeking revenge. And Annalise’s carefully guarded secret, that her real name is Deidre O’Reilly and she’s in the Witness Security Program, is in danger of being made known. She has to decide if she’ll give up the life she’s built on a lie to protect her family or entrust herself to the grace and love of her family and the protection of God.

I picked this book up on sale for Kindle before Christmas last year. I’ve read one other Deep Haven book and a novella, both of which made me eager to pick up another one in the series. Though they all take place in Deep Haven, you don’t have to read all of them or have read them in order. I’m not even sure which ones I’ve missed, but each time I’ve taken the trip to Deep Haven through Warren’s novels, I’ve not been disappointed.

Warren blends suspense, humor, romance and inspiration like a perfectly seasoned soup. Her stories are warm, comforting, hearty and keep you coming back for more.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to say good-bye to your family forever, start a new life and then have that life threatened. Annalise’s choices are not easy and Warren makes her struggle real to the rest of us, who probably will never have to face that kind of choice.

I appreciated, too, that this story was borne out of something that really happened to someone through an encounter the author had in real life. As a writer, that inspires me, because I see stories everywhere. Warren’s tale is encouraging in so many ways. It’s not fluff; it’s tough.

And more often than not, I’m loving books that aren’t afraid to go deep.

Check out the first chapter and see if a trip to Deep Haven is in order.