Do all gifts have strings attached?
Yes, believes Jonquil Bloom and she intends to prove it. She's a psychologist who uses her skills in a department store to help shoppers of all ages become good gift givers. Yet, her ten-year-old son wants a dog she won’t let him have.
Enter the handsome bachelor who is ready to settle down.
This is a tale with two purposes.
On one hand, this is a romance story. Simply written and straight forward with the beats we expect, there are few surprises as to who will wind up with who, despite various misunderstandings along the way. It has a Catholic worldview although the Catholicism doesn't intrude overmuch. A local priest gives a homily or a bit of advice but he rarely shows up. The overall effect is sweet.
On the other hand, it is an unexpected meditation upon gift giving. That is what interested me most. Gift giving and receiving is woven on many strands of the story which gave us a lot of chances to think about it in our own lives. I especially enjoyed seeing Jonquil gently nudge people into considering what they wanted their gifts to achieve. In looking at those interactions, we have a clear view from which to consider Jonquil's own flaws in that area. She has to remove the log from her own eye before trying to help with the splinter in her neighbor's (to loosely quote Jesus).
The author has a good touch with developing characters. The heroine, Jonquil, and her son, Billy, are relatively nuanced although the others are generally all good or bad with few gray areas. Usually that's the kiss of death for me, but in this case folks like Rita, Al, Mr. Merrill, and even Miss Hamilton were allowed just enough growth to make me like them.
Although this isn't the sort of book I usually like, I couldn't put it down.
Note: This was a review copy.
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