Sweetbriar Cottage by Denise Hunter

Noah and Josephine got a divorce a year and a half ago. Or did they? The IRS sent a letter to Noah letting him know that they were still married. Noah did some checking and found out that was indeed the case.  What would they do now?

In Sweetbriar Cottage by Denise Hunter, Josephine decides to hand deliver the papers to Noah's ranch. Unfortunately, a spring snowstorm comes up trapping the two together. What will happen to the pair as they have to rely on each other to ride out the storm? Will Josephine finally open up about her tragic past?

I think that Sweetbriar Cottage was well-written for the type of story that it is. However, it was a heavier subject matter than I expected and it moved much slower than I expected. There is a lot of emotional tension between the Noah and Josephine and not a lot of action through much of the book. I had a harder time getting into it until the second half of the book. Then, it did tug at my heartstrings and a felt for both Noah and Josephine. I also liked the spiritual aspect of Sweetbriar Cottage. It felt like it was a natural extension of the characters and it was a well-written aspect of this story.  Indeed, our God is a God of second chances and I am sure some readers really need to hear that, including me. I did find myself pulling for the relationship to work out, although I expected the happy ending when it came.

Sweetbriar Cottage also has a set of discussion questions in the back of the book. This book could be a good book club discussion book.

I received Sweetbriar Cottage from Thomas Nelson Publishers at no charge. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book.