Aside from the fact that I love this song (Are you
singing along in your head?) I wanted to talk about a recent novel by Susan May Warren.
She’s written an emotional, wintry, frolicking good tale by the same name.
For a northern girl living in the south, this book spoke to
me in the deep places which long to wrap a wool scarf around my neck, layer
leggings under my pants, pull on wool knee socks, and boots and mittens and a
yeti hat. I sometimes wish I could step into sub-zero air again, and feel the metal in my earrings freezing so fast my
ear lobes ache. Reading this book took me there. And the temps have been in the
nineties all week in Carolina country.
Aside from my love for the setting - Minneapolis - where I
lived for the first four years of my marriage . . . the characters rang true. I
love that the heroine had a real problem that didn’t feel canned, like one of
the same basic problems faced by many heroines out there. (Desperate for love,
heartbroken, needs money, etc . . .) The issues were more subtle, but written so
well, it’s no surprise the author runs a side business (ha!) called My Book Therapy. She clearly knows what she’s doing. Ahem. I’ve learned reams from her. I'm still learning from her.
Back to the story . . . I loved the setting and the
problems. And the hero was . . . wait for it . . . a professional hockey player.
Yoo-betcha! In Minnesota-speak, that means “You better believe it!” and “Hooray!”
all in one. There’s nothing more Minnesotan than hockey (except maybe wild rice
hot dish, but that’s another post altogether). And it was very interesting to
take a peek into that professional world with all its pressure to perform
. . . very different from your typical stay-at-home-mom/writer life in North
Carolina.
Even if you don’t care anything about hockey, this story carries the
reader on a stream of emotional adrenaline. You will grow to care deeply about
Eden and Ethan and the J-Hammer. You will love J-Hammer.
For me, It Had To Be You provided a perfect escape from the heat with a fun premise, interesting
characters, and a setting very dear to my heart. In fact, my next novel is set in
Minneapolis too! J I
hope you’ll give it a try.
Are you northern through and through? Or is your blood so
thin you need a sweater in seventy degree weather? Do you like to read wintry
books in summer? Summery books in winter?
Leave us a comment for a chance to win this week’s giveaway.
Jennifer Fromke is represented by Susan Brower of the Natasha Kern Agency.
