by Jodi Thomas
Publication Date October 26, 2021
Published by Zebra Books
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Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Westerns, Fiction / Women
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
The delightful and touching new novel from the bestselling author of dozens of treasured romances. Return to the picturesque Texas town of Honey Creek—a place where friendship and warm welcomes can be relied on, and love always finds a way…
“Thomas’s memorable, refreshingly candid characters are sure to resonate, especially the strong female protagonists. Series fans will be delighted.” —Publishers Weekly
Benjamin Monroe is pretty sure how his life will play out. He’ll continue teaching chemistry in his small college, and spend his free time biking through the valley. Eventually, he’ll retire to putter around in his garden and greenhouse.His colleague, Virginia Clark, is not one for routines. She’s chatty, spontaneous, and bubbly, and before Benjamin realizes what happened, she’s talked him into collaborating on a research project—studying the mating habits of college students. Virginia knows her desire to work with Benjamin is motivated by more than the potential prize money . . . and hopes he might not be quite as indifferent as he seems to be.
Ketch Kincaid, one of Benjamin’s star students, returned to college after serving in the army. He needs something to get his mind off his recent breakup and collecting research data might do it. And there’s another distraction on the horizon—a woman who looks like she, too, knows about heartache.
Soon enough, their project, “The Chemistry of Mating,” is gaining notoriety. Friends, neighbors . . . the whole town has become involved. But no matter what the data determines, one conclusion seems inescapable: love follows its own rules . . .
“Compelling and beautifully written.”
—Debbie Macomber on Ransom Canyon
My Review:
Dinner on Primrose Hill by Jodi Thomas is the third book in her Honey Creek series and can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. I really enjoyed this charming, sweet, small-town story that follows three couples as they move from loneliness to love.
Benjamin (Ben) is a lonely college professor, in his early 40s who has settled on life being predictable and always the same. So, when a new colleague, Virginia (Jenny) askes him to help her on a research project, he wants to refuse, but he knows he should help her so he reluctantly agrees to assist on the project.
Ketch is back in college after spending four years in the Army and he just got a dear john letter from his girl. Down in the dumps, he wanders home with the help of a lonely barmaid named Tuesday. Tuesday lives in the house on Primrose Hill, and they form a friendship.
Quite, plain librarian Amelia Remington (Millie) leads a quiet and staid life until Harrison (Hank) the preacher’s wild son roars into town on his Harley and runs Millie down, and puts her in the hospital. Feeling guilty, Hank volunteers to help Millie until she heals from her wounds.
These three love stories are so beautiful, each in its own way. The theme is loneliness as all these characters are lonely, either because they never had much of a family or because they have walled themselves off from others. The author does an excellent job of weaving these stories together and showing us how each of these characters learns to let others into their lives and into their hearts.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a sweet love story set in a lovely small town. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Wonderful review Wendy. I have read and enjoyed several books by Jodi Thomas, but not this series. My library has the first two, so I think I will start at the beginning. I love small town romances and this one sounds entertaining.
Thank you Carla, I think you’ll like this series.
That sounds like such a sweet story. I love the setting and to name a character Tuesday just fascinates me. Wonderful review!
Thank you Tessa. It was cute and just a bit different.
Just the idea of them doing a research project on the mating habits of college students made me chuckle. I think I’m going to have to read this book. 🙂
Yes! That was so funny. It’s a good book for sure.