Book Review Tess in Boots, by Courtney Rice Gager

Review by Andrea Grigg

Amazon blurb:

Tess Dougherty plans every aspect of her life right down to the last detail. But she doesn’t plan on running her boyfriend off by bringing up the topic of marriage before he’s ready. And she doesn’t plan to lose her job on the day she’s set to receive a huge promotion. So when her perfect world unravels, Tess makes a new plan: disappear. 

Tess packs her bags and leaves her city apartment for a remote vineyard in North Carolina. At first, she’s put off by the slow pace of small-town life in the South. She’s especially irritated by Thatcher, the vineyard’s smart-mouth, dimple-faced farmhand. But she soon begins to appreciate the area’s charm, and Thatcher’s charm, too. She even swaps her trademark heels for a pair of cowboy boots. As Tess spends more time getting to know Thatcher, she finds herself loosening her grip on her old life little by little. Unfortunately, things on the vineyard aren’t as simple as they seem. There’s a secret here, and when the truth comes to light, Tess is forced to reconsider every plan she’s ever made. 

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this city vs country romance. Tess had my sympathies right from the start – what a terrible twenty-four hours she had! Still, the lesson here is that sometimes it takes major unplanned events to uproot and set us on a path we wouldn’t normally choose – especially when we’ve convinced ourselves we have the life we want.

There were some great moments in this book (I shall avoid fire stations with full car parks at all costs) and great characters. I laughed out loud in several places.

I liked Tess very much. She came across as realistic, complete with flaws as well as endearing qualities, and a vulnerability that made me want to take her under my wing.

As for Thatcher, well, I don’t blame Tess for being attracted to him. Those blue eyes had me hooked too, but it was more his gentle way of dealing with her and his cheeky humour that had me hoping things would hurry along.

Which of course, they didn’t.

As Tess gets busy organising a new venture for the vineyard it becomes obvious her brother Jake and his wife Sara are hiding something. And Thatcher has his secrets too. And what’s happening between Tess and Logan, the boyfriend she left behind because she wanted to teach him a lesson, the one she occasionally forgets because Thatcher just plain makes her giddy?

Tess in Boots is an entertaining, light-hearted romance with a subtle Christian element. I thoroughly enjoyed it - especially the significance of the boots J

Thank you to Anaiah Press for a free e-book to review.

Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and is a writer of contemporary Christian romance. Her first book, ‘A Simple Mistake’ was a finalist in the 2012 CALEB awards. Her second novel, ‘Too Pretty’ was released in August 2014.

Website: www.andreagrigg.com

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