The Backing Bookworm
Only You
This ebook has been on my kindle, which I assume I got as a freebie, for YEARS and I finally cracked it open! I expected a very light contemporary, wholesome romance and that's what I got.
It was ... fine(ish) but definitely not a book that fits my current reading tastes. The story has a dated feel - like one of your grandma's paperbacks from the 1980's. It's simple, saccharine-sweet, with a small-town feel and one-dimensional characters and was a very easy read.
The book nerd in me liked that there was a librarian character with a simple plot that has romance - but what it does with great relish is focus on the issue of class (sweet town librarian meets handyman from the wrong side of the tracks - gasp!) It got a bit tiresome with how much page time was devoted to Josie, a grown woman with a PhD, worrying about what the locals will think of her 'fraternizing' with Cole.
Not my cuppa tea, but it delivered what it promised - a wholesome, simple, small-town story that's a quick read. Probably a good pick for fans of Debbie Macomber.
My Rating: 3 starsAuthor: Deborah Grace StaleyGenre: Contemporary Fiction, RomanceSeries: Angel Ridge #1Type and Source: ebook, TBRPublisher: Bell Bridge BooksFirst Published: May 8, 2004Read: June 9-11, 2025
Book Description from GoodReads: A charming romance about the lives and loves of people in a small Tennessee town.
In the tradition of Debbie Macomber. "Hey, ya'll. Dixie Ferguson here. I run Ferguson's Diner in Angel Ridge, Tennessee. Population three hundred forty-five. It's a picturesque town in the valley of the Little Tennessee River, established in 1785. In the early days, its first families--the McKays, the Wallaces, the Houstons, the Joneses, and, of course, the Craigs--staked their claims on hundreds of acres of the richest bottom land anyone had ever seen. After all the years I've spent behind the counter at Ferguson's, I could probably tell ya'll a story about near everyone in town. But we only have so much time, so I'll narrow it down to just two for now.
This is a story about coming home. It's also a story about acceptin' folks for who they are. You could say it's a story about Josie Allen, a librarian, and Cole Craig, a handyman, but I say it's a story about finding love where you'd least expect to."
♦