April In Bloom

I read this as a stand-alone, however, there were aspects of April’s family life/drama that didn’t feel as fully explained as I would have preferred, and maybe that’s where reading the other two books could have helped? Still, since this one is specifically April’s story and she seemed very affected by what happened in her family, I thought her experience could have been explored in greater depth here even if it had been touched on in the previous novels.

The first two books in this trilogy were released as part of Steeple Hill Cafe, a short-lived Christian fiction chick-lit/romantic comedy line, whereas this last one released as a Love Inspired title. This did feel like a blend of the two lines with one foot in quirky romantic show more comedy only for the other foot to suddenly plunge into more serious territory. To me, the tone seemed kind of imbalanced or something and lessened the emotional impact a little.

While I enjoyed Miss Cora, I did wish her page time had been reduced just a bit to maybe add in another scene between April and her stepdad, a dynamic I liked but saw little of, similarly, I wanted a little more interaction between Kurt and his mother since his conflict/reluctance to pursue a public relationship with April is tied to gossip, which is something his mother notoriously engages in.

I would have loved a little more of April gardening and other seasonal spring vibes, but if you like small town stories where everyone’s sticking their noses into other people’s business or if you’re a long time Love Inspired reader and want to try one that marches to a slightly different beat, this has some entertaining moments and a couple poignant ones, too. show less

This was the third book in this series and I enjoyed reading it. This story is about April Shelnutt, the oldest sister in the family. She is described in the beginning of the book very well. "April spent her weekdays running the Weed' Em and Reap Garden Supply and Nursery.. .. She'd set aside a couple of evenings a week for dinner with her sisters and their families, school plays,. . . And trying to keep one step ahead of her darling daddy was one of those on-call 24/7 deals.. . . .And today, she had built up enough steam, courtesy of a certain impossible-to-pin-down sheriff, to run the town's power plant for a week." When 90 year old Miss Cora injures herself at Sheriff Mulldoon's place, April finds herself caring for Miss Cora and show more both April and the Sheriff try to stay clear of each other, but only find themselves spending more and more time together. Love is definately in the air.

It was a fun to read story, with alot of fun parts and also alot of lessons to be learned in the lives of these folks. The author does a good job of communicating a message in her stories of a serious nature, but makes you enjoy yourself while doing it. Although you can read this as a stand alone, it would help you understand April's family and the town much better if you read the other books, especially book one, although book two was my favorite. show less

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