THE SWEET SHRUB INN

A city girl goes back to her rural home in Roscoe’s small-town contemporary romance.

Chicago therapist Cora gets a call from Mississippi telling her that her father, whom she is not close to, is in the hospital, and the doctors think he has Alzheimer’s. She reluctantly flies to her hometown of Taloowa. The first thing she does when she arrives is meet her friend Coop at a bar, where they encounter Jensen Mabry, Cora’s old crush. A few days after her arrival, Cora learns that her father purchased the Sweet Shrub Inn and she will inherit it. An anonymous buyer has offered a great price for it, but the offer is contingent on renovations being completed, renovations Cora’s father is no longer capable of doing. Jensen agrees to help her finish the renovations, which means Cora will be splitting her time between Chicago and Taloowa for a few months. Cora once confessed her feelings to Jensen, and he turned her down. But he seems ready for something now. And though Cora had good reasons for leaving Taloowa, she is finding it comforting. As she falls for Jensen and lets the Sweet Shrub Inn charm her during its renovation, she has to think about what she wants more—her career in Chicago or a life running an inn, possibly with Jensen, back home in Taloowa. The book’s chatty tone (“I give her a genuine smile because she is oblivious to the fact that she is on the arm of a total douchebag”) enhances an already fun, lively storyline. Taloowa has a lot of great small-town appeal, and Cora’s difficulties with her father keep the novel grounded in reality. The only real flaws here are that there isn’t much suspense about which path Cora will choose, and the final conflict feels a little manufactured. But these are mere quibbles about a sweet, heartfelt, and very cute tale.

A charming romance with a likable lead.