Ohhhhh boyyyy. They tell librarians to read outside their genre(s) of comfort once in a while, but let me tell you that I spent 7.5 hours on this book so you did not have to.
I checked this out because a customer did, and I caught the mention of Maine on the back. The cover was also appealing, and I've been looking for some paperback fiction to try since it's so popular in circulation at my library. With a title like this, it might even get me into the holiday mood. Sold!
What I didn't know until about 40% of the way in was that this is decidedly Christian fiction. Which is a popular genre for readers, so I'm not sure why it wasn't more evident from the jacket blurb, or from the beginning? It's almost as if Hunter snuck it in, but well after the plot picks up. Starting with vague references to church, right up to characters "doing morning devotions" (honestly I'm not even sure what that means?), this book is very... very "inspirational fiction." Which also means that the romance itself is rated G, to my chagrin.
A sidebar complaint, I am FROM Maine, and a I LIVE in the South. Let me tell you this is clearly written by someone who has seen too many L.L. Bean catalogs but never actually been to Maine. People use southern words ("ornery" was one I'd never heard until living in the Bible belt; "fixin' to" is not a phrase that has ever been used by a native New Englander). And aside from characters wearing a lot of flannel, no details about Maine ring true. Snowstorms are 4-6 feet of snow, not just one; Christmas doesn't involve any outdoor celebrations because it's too damn cold. Wishing the author had researched Maine more thoroughly, spoken with more natives, or maybe even visited to get a sense of the place.
But aaaaanyway, if you have some readers looking for a clean, Christian read with plenty of chaste eye contact and a couple of dry kisses, this is where it's at. There's a touch of suspense, but no graphic violence. Zero curse words. No sex. Plenty of church.