The Healing Heart

Very sweet romance story

The last few years for Jamie have not been easy. The passing of her husband was followed closely by losing her dad, and her confidence to face her new life without them is shaken. She wants to focus on her and her daughter, but a brief encounter with Conley offers up a new path Jamie's not sure she's ready to take just yet.

This is a very sweet romance. From the first few pages, it was easy to connect with Jamie and understand her struggles. She was a well crafted character that readers will care about and want to follow. Howard did a great job of weaving Jamie's emotions into every scene. It was a bit of a roller coaster at times, but it helped me to connect with Jamie even more.

Conley was a good character as well. The whole story is told from Jamie's point of view, but I still felt like I got to know Conley well. His words and the way he treated Jamie told as much about him as getting directly into his thoughts would have. It was interesting to see Jamie's reactions to him as well. Jamie tells readers right off the bat that she and her first husband had the kind of love that others wish they had, a real and true connection. She seems so unsure of herself at first, doubting that she would ever be lucky enough to find love like that again. I enjoyed watching her explore the possibility that she could find love a second time.

The overall plot of the story mainly focused around the romance. There was no great, overriding conflict between the two of them. It focused on Jamie learning to accept the idea of finding love again. It was a very clean, heartfelt story that I enjoyed reading. My only complaints about the book overall was that it was a little slow in the beginning and the tone of the writing felt more like a YA novel than one written for adults. Even with these issues, I still enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to those looking for a light, sweet romance.