Smitten

Next in my list of recent reads is “Smitten: Love is on the way” a novella by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter. I will start right off the bat and say that the foreword made this book for me. In it you learn that all of the writers are friends and have genuinely worked in collaboration to create this book. I have read my fair share of novellas and most of the time it seems like the writers have never even met each other. Along with that, most of them tend to be standalone stories and are not well connected to each other. “Smitten” is different though. The friendship really tied this book together. They knew each others writing style as well as knew each others personalities. The writers put themselves into their characters and in turn the friendship was intertwined into the book.

The book's overall theme is that the town of Smitten, Vermont has lost their major work source, a mill, and now must come up with an alternative. The book’s four leading ladies come up with the idea of making the town into a romantic destination that plays upon the town’s name. In the four stories, each woman does their part to turn the town into a love retreat. Through the process each woman ends up finding a love of their own. As can be expected, in all but one of the stories the men involved are against the town revamp and must be brought around to the idea. This of course gives the background for romance to build and overcome obstacle.

I thought each story was cute and worth a read. I wouldn’t say that they were the most in-depth storylines (depth is hard in a novella setting.) I also thought that the stories were quite predictable, but all in all they were cute. The standout story for me would be Denise Hunter’s “Reese: All Along.” I am a big fan of Hunter and this was another great piece of writing that didn’t disappoint. I will even rate Hunter’s worth a multiple read status. Grab a cozy blanket, a warm caramel apple cider, and check out this book.

Your Sippin Chick

*I received this book for free from booksneeze.com in return for a honest review