Characters that are endearing, realistic and so easy to fall in love with!
Reluctant Hearts by Linda Griffin is an engaging collection of four distinct short stories about finding love even when we aren’t looking for it. Book 1, No Regrets, starts off with a scene of chaos. Darien is just trying to get through another challenging Monday of chores and errands when she is caught up in the center of a hostile bank robbery. The episode turns violent and the handsome security guard is injured while trying to protect Darien. Unwanted feelings prove to be more terrifying for Darien than the robber’s threats. The second book features a man and a woman with a history, but the ensuing years haven’t been kind to either of them. The challenges of overcoming a false allegation and a tricky past will prove what this rekindled relationship is made of. Book 3 introduces readers to single mom Kate Howard. Over a cup of coffee and brief interludes at a laundromat, she and David begin a tentative relationship, but David’s commitment will be put to the test as he gets to know what it’s really like to walk in Kate’s shoes. And finally, we meet Frank and Kayla, a pair that seems destined never to be until they discover all that they have in common. All four tales focus on the tiny, unspoken things that add to so much in a developing relationship, and they demonstrate how love tends to creep up on even the most closed-off hearts.
Linda Griffin has a keen sense of timing and a knack for shaping characters that are endearing, realistic and so easy to fall in love with! In Reluctant Hearts: Four Contemporary Romances, each story and couple are so engaging that you’ll be hard-pressed to choose a favorite. Even though you know that the narrative will be brief going into each new book, it hardly lessens the sting when the account ends because these are characters whose stories you’ll want to enjoy much longer than their compact space on the page allows. Fully in the realm of contemporary, the cast are working through issues familiar to all of us, adding that enchanting sense that good things can happen in our modern, problem-filled world. However, despite the difficulties the couples face, the romances discovered in Griffin’s writing are as light and sweet as a lemon meringue pie. If you’re looking for a gentle collection brimming with possibility, curl up with a copy of Reluctant Hearts.
