Kerry Winfrey writes romantic comedies for adults and teens. She is the author of Waiting for Tom Hanks, Not Like the Movies, Very Sincerely Yours, and Just Another Love Song, as well as two young adult novels. She lives with her family in the middle of Ohio. You can find her online at AYearofRomcoms.tumblr.com, or on Instagram @KerryWinfrey.
Once upon a time, Sandy Macintosh thought she would have her happily ever after with her high school sweetheart, Hank Tillman. Sandy wanted to be an artist, Hank was the only boy in town who seemed destined for bigger things, and they both had dreams to escape town together. But when Sandy's plans fell through, she stayed in their small town in Ohio while Hank went off to Boston to follow his dreams to be a musician, with the promise to stay together. Only that plan fell through, too. Fifteen years later, Sandy runs a successful greenhouse while helping her parents with their bed-and-breakfast. Everything is perfect . . . until Hank rolls back into town, now a famous alt-country singer, with a son in tow. She's happy with the life she's built by herself, but seeing Hank makes her think about what might have been. There aren't enough cliché love songs in the world to convince Sandy to give Hank another chance, but when the two of them get thrown together to help organize the town's annual street fair, she wonders if there could be a new beginning for them or if what they had is just a tired old song of the past.
Second chance romances aren't usually my favorite, but I couldn't resist the way the blurb made this one sound! Sandy and Hank were on track to be high school sweethearts, until it all fell apart. When reunited fifteen years later, will they come back together? I love how the beginning of this story was told in alternating past and present timelines—we get to see a bit of how Hank and Sandy fell in love in high school while they're also reuniting awkwardly in the present. Because of this, we truly understand the stakes and history behind these interactions, and especially Sandy's hesitations in trying to get back together with Hank. We move firmly to the present for the second-half of the novel, and by then we're completely hooked on whether or not they'll actually get back together, and how they'll make it work.
Winfrey doesn't make it easy for her characters to reconcile, either. When they were young, Sandy and Hank didn't have a whole lot tying them down, making a relationship difficult. Now that they're in their thirties, each of them have specific responsibilities. Hank has a young son and a budding musical career, while Sandy has put down roots in her small town by owning a business and a home. Overcoming their emotional rollercoasters is just as tricky as how they work to overcome these more physical logistics. Winfrey doesn't make it easy for Hank and Sandy to move forward to the future they want, truly making them fight to work for what they want around everything else. More than anything, it's what made this romance feel realistic and compelling.
I live in Ohio, so I actually found myself laughing at some of the Ohio references. I love the small town vibes Winfrey is able to cultivate, and it was made even better knowing that she inspired this fictional town after her own very real hometown. I really loved the palpability of this setting, how I truly felt like I was walking the streets with Sandy and seeing it through her eyes. The shoutouts to the Buckeyes just made it feel all the more real. Maybe that's just a result of me being an Ohioan, but even if you're not from Ohio and love small town stories, I truly think you'll feel that energy through Winfrey's prose.
I really enjoyed Just Another Love Song that it actually makes me wonder more about Winfrey's backlist, and about her future projects. I think I might be checking them out! Until then, you can find Kerry online at AYearofRomcoms.tumblr.com, or on Instagram @KerryWinfrey.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
Comments
Post a Comment