From a USA Today bestselling author, Simple Jess is chock-full of Ozarks mountain culture and characters that you are sure you know, Simple Jess is a unique and beloved romance novel no reader should miss.
Jesse Best is a simple man with simple ambitions, his own dog, his own gun and a woman. In this very special return to Marrying Stone, Jesse gets his chance at all three. Althea Winsloe is a … all three. Althea Winsloe is a widow with a son. All she wants is to give her boy a better childhood than her own. But a young woman sitting on a prime piece of farmland is bound to draw attention from her envious neighbors and swains on every side. Interfering relatives and the confession of an illicit kiss force her to make her choice of a new husband by Christmas Day.
RT Reviewers Choice Award — Innovative Historical Romance Winner
1998 All About Romance Reader Award — Top 100 Romances Winner
Tales from Marrying Stone
- Book 1: Marrying Stone
- Book 2: Simple Jess
- Book 3: The Lovesick Cure
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One of my all time favorites by an excellent author
Really unusual story. Very good book.
This was such a good, clean story. I enjoyed it as a fan of historical fiction. I enjoyed reading about the everyday life and farm chores of the Ozarks. The story line is unique, the characters are well-developed and lovable, and the ending is surprising.
This story is unpredictable at first, but ends the right way. It takes place in the very early 20th century in a very small hill town in Appalachia where everyone not only knows your name but also your business! In fact the towns people want to solve your problems when you didn’t even realize you had any! It’s a wonderful story of romance, but not a regular romance that one would expect. I absolutely loved this story. I downloaded it onto my Kindle, and it will be staying there so I can re-read it whenever I want that feel good feeling!
Jesse is a simple man with simple ambitions, his own dog, his own gun and a woman. Althea is a widow with a 3-year-old son, and they live on a prime piece of farmland. That draws attention from envious neighbors and swains. She wants to give her boy a better childhood than her own. Interfering relatives and the confession of an illicit kiss force her to make her choice of a new husband by Christmas day. – Jesse may be simple, but he is smarter than most in many ways. He is a wonderful character. Althea is a sweet but sassy mountain woman. The neighbors are a good variety of mountain folks. The kangaroo court that they held was entertaining. The book was a little slow, but it is a good story.
I loved this. It’s from my own neck of the woods so I could really identify with the setting and characters.
I liked the characters and the way the story showed that we all have our strengths and don’t have to be the smartest or the best to be wonderful lovable human beings.
a well written read
Seeing someone for their heart is not easy when you have been trained to filter people by certain standards. Practical steady people may not appear brilliant but have a different emotional intelligence and a captivating loyalty.
Loved it!
This story of discovery Is an interesting blend of 3 dimensional characters and genuine pioneer spirit.
I loved reading a book about the Arkansas Ozarks where I had once lived. I also liked how the author used the language that might have been spoken in the early 1900’s in that part of the country.
Shows how true love doesn’t expect perfection. Great story and very different from the usual love story.
I’ve never read a romance with a character like Jess. Awesome story!
I appreciated reading a book about a character who had some special needs, but was more than capable of love. Just the title was heartbreaking, as this was the character’s nickname. Simple can mean different things to different people, thankfully.
Made me think about what is really important.
I liked the main characters and her handling of their personalities. Could do without the sex scenes, but that seems to be required these days, however unnecessary to a good story. Publishers take note – I, for one, am tired of the requirement. What I really appreciated is that she showed how living in a close community with large extended family can be great, but it can also leave you infuriatingly impotent in some situations. Nothing really horrible happens, although there are tense moments and very close calls. This is ordinary people doing their best to get on with life with what they know and in a tough environment. I would like to know what research she did to develop Jesse. He rang true for me.
A new kind of love story….
Kept my interest until the end.
Such an original book, I loved the characters, ans Simple Jess