In A Jam
by Kate Canterbary
Release Date: Available Now
My review:
“In a Jam” is a wonderfully sweet and tart small-town, slow burn romance by Kate Canterbary. It’s hard to write this review without using lots of jam and bread puns, but I’m going to do my best. I will share though, that the “jam man” leading man earns another nickname in this book … “Daddy Bread Baker”, which becomes an excellent running joke.
Reeling after her fiance calls off the wedding just a few hours before it’s due to start, Shay is handed something of a heavenly helpline when her recently deceased much beloved step-grandmother leaves her a surprising inheritance – the farm that’s been in the family for over 300 years. In desperation, she decides to go for it, for at least a year that she has before the conditions of the inheritance kick in. Oh yes, there are some serious conditions including the fact that she must live there for a year, and must be married by the end of that year. The chaos starts the moment she gets to the driveway of farm where she lives for a while in her youth, and it keeps rising from there. The biggest complication of them all is Noah, her best friend from high school who is now droolworthy man-candy with a farmer’s tan. He has a complication of his own; the six-year-old niece he has custody of, and her toy sword wielding, sailor worthy cursing habits. Now Shay has to navigate complicated feelings for her old friend, while she struggles to comprehend certain truths about herself that she’s just come to realize.
This is an entertaining book, with plenty of great rom-com moments. It’s also got a lot of sweet moments, farm animal hijinks, and a big, wonderful cast of secondary characters including Shay’s friends and the local townspeople. Noah’s niece is so important to the story that she is almost a main character, When Shay and Noah finally stop fighting the burning attraction between them, the fiery heat they generate practically sets the farm on fire. Noah blushes sometimes, but his bedroom talk is enough to make more delicate readers blush. It’ll probably make most of you as hot and bothered as Shay! There is also a lot of emotion in this story, and some scenes that might have you sniffling behind your book. I thought the ending was nicely done for these characters who truly deserved their happy conclusion.