Patty Froese is a new author at Desert Breeze Publishing and to the best of my knowledge this is her first book.
When I started reading Pretty on Paper, I was reminded of the Harlequin romances I loved to read in the 80s. It wasn't that the hero was rich and arrogant — Jake was well aware of his short-comings, though he was a lawyer and a workaholic. It wasn't that there was a love scene three quarters of the way through the novel — this Christian fiction stayed on the safe side of its characters' passion. I think it was the writing style that reminded me of the good ole days, just taking me one gentle scene at a time deeper into the foibles of Anne and Jake's relationship.
Pretty on Paper is a short contemporary romance set in small town, Charity Falls. It has the age-old city girl/country boy theme going on, tweaked a little to question another not-so-old conundrum: Should moms stay at home to raise their children at the expense of not using a God-given talent? Jake says yes. He's participated in one failed marriage where neither partner made the marriage a top priority; he doesn't want to do that again. Anne says no. Her own mother was a career woman, and Anne didn't suffer because of it.
I think what pleased me the most about this book was how the romance developed. They just liked each other. When the differences in their life goals surfaced, they were disappointed, because they liked each other and had hopes of seeing something deeper develop. As much as they knew they shouldn't see each other, they both continued to find reasons to do just that — because they liked each other. They weren't cruel, selfish, or even immature. They didn't spend the entire book spatting and then decide they were going to get married anyway. They just liked each other. And eventually that like was strong enough to help both of them to compromise and realize they were in love.
Oh, there is a bit of mystery, too. Anne's on the hunt to find out the secrets of her great aunt, the same aunt who recently died, bringing Anne to Charity Falls to care for her inheritance, a house, a cottage, and a little bookstore called Perfect on Paper.
Give this story a try and see what memories it evokes for you.
