Dear Henry, Love Edith
A Charming Romantic Comedy of Love, Letters, and Mistaken Identity
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
He thinks she's an elderly widow. She's convinced he's a grumpy old man. Neither could be further from the truth.
After a short and difficult marriage, recently widowed Edith Sherman has learned her lesson. Forget love. Forget marriage. She plans to fill her thirties with adventure. As she awaits the final paperwork for a humanitarian trip to South Africa, she accepts a short-term nursing position in a small Midwestern town. The last thing she needs is a handsome local catching her eye. How inconvenient is that?
Henry Hobbes isn't exactly thrilled to have Edith, who he assumes is an elderly widow, dumped on him as a houseguest for the summer. But he'd do almost anything for his niece, who is practically like a sister to him given how close they are in age. Especially since Edith will be working nights and Henry works most days. When he and Edith keep missing each other in person, they begin exchanging notes—short messages at first, then longer letters, sharing increasingly personal parts of their lives.
By the time Henry realizes his mistake—that Edith is actually the brown-eyed beauty he keeps bumping into around town—their hearts are so intertwined he hopes they never unravel. But with her departure date rapidly approaching, and Henry's roots firmly planted at home, Edith must ultimately decide if the adventure of her dreams is the one right in front of her.
• A clean and sweet romantic comedy reminiscent of the beloved classic You've Got Mail
• Filled with mistaken identities, second chances, laugh-out-loud moments, and finding love in unexpected places
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kinzer debuts with a charming rom-com that follows two 30-something housemates as they fall in love despite a case of mistaken identity. After a suffocating marriage that ended in her husband's early death, newly widowed Edith is determined to reclaim a life of adventure. Edith, a nurse, plans to volunteer at a hospital in South Africa, but first heads to small-town Westshire, Ill., to volunteer at a crisis nursery. There, Henry, a lonely contractor who's recently injured his knee, is persuaded by his niece to temporarily house Edith, falsely assuming the "sweet old widow" who'll be living upstairs is elderly. Edith, meanwhile, thinks the same of Henry, especially after learning the bachelor "hasn't been able to climb the stairs for some time." Conflicting physical therapy and volunteer schedules prevent the two from meeting for weeks, though they exchange increasingly vulnerable notes left on Henry's kitchen table, and unknowingly run into one another around town. Hijinks revolving around the couple escalate, aided by gossipy locals and the arrival of Edith's late husband's brother, who, in a strange twist, starts stalking Edith. But when Edith finally meets Henry, she must decide whether to pursue a life of service in South Africa or seek fulfillment closer to home. Though the novel struggles to maintain momentum, readers will root for this salt-of-the-earth couple and their small-town romance. This lighthearted jaunt checks all the boxes readers will expect.
