Jack Allan cannot count the number of times he’s been approached with invitations beginning something like, “My sister has a friend…” It seems as if everyone in the small town of Corbett, Idaho, is intent on finding a wife for him–everyone except for Jack himself. The townspeople gossip that this is because Jack, a young widower, has not gotten over the death of his wife, Katelin, and in a way … way they are right. However, it isn’t his undying love for Katelin which is holding Jack back. Rather it is the memory of events surrounding her death, events about which only he knows and which have left him filled with guilt.
Undeterred, Ruby Henderson, Jack’s feisty neighbor, introduces him to her granddaughter, Ally. Jack unwittingly finds himself attracted to Ally, and it seems she is attracted to him too. So he is stunned when he finally asks her out and she turns him down his by saying it would be best if they were just friends. This sets in motion events which lead Jack into one romantic entanglement after another and with not one possible romantic interest but three.
Set against the backdrop of farming and small town life, The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allan is filled with amusing characters. It tells a story which is sometimes humorous and sometimes poignant as Jack struggles with his guilt while also working to sort out his love life and those of the people around him.
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To let a new person in or not?
The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allen by Dayle King Searle is an unexcepted tale of making friends, getting back into the dating life, and accepting what happened in the past. Jack Allan has dealt with a lot in the past and even know for people trying to set him up with other girls that his other citizens in Corbett, Idaho.
Jack Allan
He is the youngest of two Allan kids. His older sister is Gwen and Jack works with his brother-in-law at the potato farm that has been in his family for generations. Jack has been withdrawn from the world since his wife died. He is a great person and a great dad. We learn a lot as we go through the seasons with the Allan family, and with Jack slowly joining the world again.
I like that despite the whole town trying to put Jack with every girl that is single that he tells them that he is good. He has a hard time saying no to his mom and his next-door neighbor Ruby. Ruby is the reason why Jack is stuck in his current situation. Another thing that I like about Jack is that he has thought he was invisible, but he wasn’t, and that makes him happy. Jack is great with kids. The one thing that I dislike about him is that he didn’t fight for Ally more than he could have, but then I recognize why Jack did that as he wasn’t ready yet.
Ally
Ally is the granddaughter of Ruby, Jack’s neighbor, and an English teacher at the local high school. She is a divorcee and is raising her ten-year-old son, who sometimes sees his dad and his step-mom. I feel bad for Ally dealing with how her ex-husband’s new wife is treating her son after she had her own kid, which isn’t great. Ally is a great person who speaks her mind and has no filter. Ally wants to do well in her position at the school and to help the kids. Except she gets stuck in a complication thanks to her grandma taking her to the dance. Ally ends up dancing with the local bank manager and dates him even though her grandmother doesn’t like him. At least things ended up well in the end.
I like that she speaks her mind and has no filter since sometimes that’s what you need. Ally is a great teacher and a mother to her son Ben. She is also suitable for Jack as she got through to him when other’s couldn’t. Another thing that I like about her is once she knew the truth about Jack she wasn’t afraid of him. There isn’t much that I don’t like about her since I understood why she did a lot of things.
Four Stars
The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allen by Dayle King Searle is an excellent book that I didn’t expect to like. Ms. Searle is a great storyteller, and she has created a wonderful book here. I love the characters, and I enjoyed it. I am giving The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allen by Dayle King Searle a four-star rating and recommending it to anyone that likes to read romance.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allen by Dayle King Searle.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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This book was really good. I liked a lot of things about it. The author did a really great job with the setting, and the characters. The plot was a bit predictable. But the book was still enjoyable.
One of my favorite things about the book was the setting of Corbett, Idaho. Corbett doesn’t appear to be a real place, at least I don’t remember it and it’s not coming up in a Google Maps search, but it felt like the little town I grew up in in Idaho. The way everyone knows everyone and their business seemed so much like a small town. And things like the potato harvest and getting out of school for it were things I experienced growing up.
I liked the characters a lot. This one features Jack Allen. He’s the main character and the reader sees everything through his eyes. I like seeing things through the man’s eyes a lot of times. And Jack is a great character. There is a complexity about him that you don’t always get in characters. That was great!
Corbett has a fun cast of characters, people like Ruby make the book come alive. Ruby is the kind of busybody that most people know. I loved the way she pushed Jack into doing things and got him thinking in different ways. Jack’s sister Gwen and brother-in-law Greg are great too. And there’s also Ally. Ally is Ruby’s granddaughter and she’s the main think Ruby tries to push him into. I do wish the reader had gotten to see a bit of her point of view. She seemed a bit one dimensional.
I liked the plot. There were a few things that weren’t predictable, but not as many as I would have liked. All in all, this is a good book that you’ll enjoy taking time to read.