Valentine’s Day isn’t just for February 14th anymore! Love should be celebrated every day of the year. That’s Thornton Fielding’s philosophy. In spite of a few false starts in the arena of love, he holds out hope he’ll eventually find the woman of his dreams. The problem? He loves his job, and there’s no end in sight to his travels. But when Thornton returns to his tiny hometown of Cherish, … Minnesota, he meets a beautiful and intriguing woman he believes might be God’s answer to ending his bachelor status—permanently.
Vara Alexandris is soured on love and scoffs at the notion of soul mates. But soon after meeting the handsome and unconventional Thornton, the speech and language pathologist suspects he might be the perfect ally to help jump-start her stroke patient’s recovery—if only Vara can keep Thornton grounded in Cherish long enough. This man who spouts romanticized and idealistic ideas about love seems all too eager to resume his world travels. Could it be Thornton actually prefers globetrotting in order to avoid a romantic relationship?
Is it time for Vara to call the dreamer’s bluff? And can Thornton convince Vara to put past heartache behind her and trust in God’s plan for her heart?
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Christmas Challenge, The Lewis Legacy Series, and The Wondrous Love Series, join Vara and Thornton in JoAnn Durgin’s latest release full of her trademark humor, romance, and lively, small-town characters in a story of God’s fierce passion and loving guidance for His children—if only they’d pay attention! The Valentine Verse is sure to warm your soul during any season of the year.
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“Coming into the coffee shop for her new favorite morning drink was almost as addictive as the man who’d pre-paid her death.”
Who can put this book down after a sentence like that? You’ll have to read the book to find out what that sentence actually means since this is a contemporary romance novel and not a romantic suspense . This book was my introduction to Joann Durgin’s writing and I’m extremely pleased about discovering this new-to-me author. The story is well-written and quite fun to read. The dialogue is clever and quirky and intelligent. The flirting is outrageously funny and sweet. There are lots of references to pop culture that were fun to read and reminisce about. There isn’t a lot of action in the plot and the storyline is carried by the dialogue between characters. The book concentrates on character development and focuses on Vara and Thornton getting to know each other and falling in love…and page by page, I fell in love with them, too.
“And he’s always spouting about Valentine’s Day and how it shouldn’t be reserved for just one day of the year. Thornton feels love should be celebrated every day of the year.” This is Thornton. He’s an amazing Renaissance Man – well-versed in literature, music, dance, art, history and pop culture; loyal, committed to family, compassionate, creative, intelligent, oh-so-romantic and wealthy to boot, AND faithful to Jesus. I mean, he’s perfect, right? Well….he has his past, his hurts, his shame and he still needs to learn a thing or two about love and trust. But he does sweep Vara off her feet. Completely.
Vara is still struggling to recover from her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. She has a lot of hurts and insecurities to work through. She comes from a bustling Greek family with two older brothers and three younger sisters (who are just fantastic secondary characters, by the way). She is good at what she does as a speech and language pathologist, is compassionate and passionate, forthright in stating her opinions and feelings, and rises to any challenge Thornton puts out there.
This is a story of how two people fall in love – step by step, one conversation and one thoughtful deed at a time. They pray for each other and pray with each other – about their relationship, about others around them, about their fears and dreams. This is a story that will make the younger hearts sigh and dream for THAT relationship. This is a story that will make the not-so-young hearts remember the early days of our love and be grateful for the heady beginnings (and for the lasting love that developed from those beginnings). Oh, and, there are some plot twists to keep things lively.
I’m hoping for a sequel to this book to continue delving into Vara’s family – perhaps a book about one of her sisters?
I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher through Celebrate Lit Tours. I was not required to write a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
This author is my number one for truly inspirational reading. Her characters come alive and you fall in love with them. Can’t go wrong with any of her books!