Day: May 11, 2021

I was completely taken by this book from start to finish. I thought that the plot was interesting, the characters were engaging, and the overall story was unique.

I mean, honestly, who would think that a story hinging on the fundraising for a church roof could be so entertaining? Not to mention the unlikeliest pairing of characters I’ve seen in a long time.

There were parts of it that were a little predictable – Gwen was an odd bird who had suffered a great loss and was forced to live with a mean old aunt. It was no surprise that she would embrace a project such as the one tasked by Vicar Dave.

Jarvis was less obvious. He ended up being more complex than I thought he would be. At the beginning, he was a typical screwup (although a tad old for it), and it took me a while to figure out what his game was (because he obviously had one).

Okay, to be honest, I didn’t figure it out until it was revealed.

And what a surprise it was, because it totally changed the perspective I had of Jarvis. I’m sure that was intentioned, and it was very well done.

I could totally see myself getting wrapped up in a project such as Gwen and Jarvis undertook. I would thrive on something like that. So, I was just as avid as they were to continue the research in the guest book.

I don’t want to say a lot more, because I truly enjoyed not knowing what was coming next.

I will say that in addition to the great story, I really enjoyed watching (reading?) Gwen and Jarvis both grow. It felt good to see two people bring out unique aspects of each other while also recognizing their own strengths.

I guess that’s a good lesson out of this – never let other people define your self-worth. Gwen did with her Aunt Mary and Jarvis did with, well…the whole town. But they got past that to re-discover their strengths.

This was definitely a feel-good novel that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

Author Bio:
Tracy Rees was the winner of the Richard and Judy ‘Search for a Bestseller’ Competition and her books are paperback, ebook and audio bestsellers. A Cambridge graduate, she had a successful eight-year career in nonfiction publishing and a second career practising and teaching humanistic counselling before becoming a writer. She lives in Wales.