What clinched wanting to read this book for me was the blurb. The cover was another thing that drew me in, plus I'd never read anything by Beck Anderson before.
Adult Contemporary Romance
Published by Omnific Publishing
Synopsis
Fender Barnes profits from an institution he doesn’t believe in: marriage. He’s a talented designer, but a reluctant jewelry store owner, thanks to his pop’s retirement. He’s cynical, he’s jaded, he’s not entirely certain about the concept of love, but he’s happy to sell an eager young guy an engagement ring for his fiancée to be—until moments after the transaction when that eager guy is hit by a car and killed, and Fender’s conscience pays a rare visit.
He retrieves the ring and decides to find the woman his customer intended to marry. That woman turns out to be Ginger Stevens, twenty-something ski instructor, who—despite being full of guilt and self-doubt after the death of her boyfriend—is someone Fender finds he quite enjoys being around. He’s smitten.
Which is all well and good, except that after he meets her, Fender can’t do it. Though it’s right there in his pocket, he can’t tell her about the ring. Instead, he embarks on a long, ridiculous quest to find a way to tell her the truth he knows she deserves. Aided by advice from Pop and the antics of his best friend Sam, Fender tries desperately to juggle his budding romance with the reality he knows could ruin it.
Will he find love or foul it up? Can Ginger move out of the past to embrace what the future has to offer? Meet this unlikely pair in Beck Anderson’s heartfelt and fabulously funny second novel, The Jeweler.
Review
★★★1/2 stars
I read this book fairly quickly. It didn't take very long to hook my interest. The concept was very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. There were some parts I of the book I enjoyed more than others, but we'll get into that in a little bit.
I liked Fender. He was usually put together, but being in Ginger's presence turned him into a bumbling mess. It was really quite endearing to see him that way. I liked his frank observations on the customers that came in and even his jadedness with the institution of marriage. Fender has some problems struggling with what to do with the ring that ended up back in his possession and I understood his dilemma.
Ginger was interesting. I wasn't so sure how I felt about her initially, especially after first meeting her in the park with Zoe. It didn't seem like she was really vested in her relationship. However, seeing her after her loss, trying to come to grip with her new reality softened what I thought of her, and I realized she was just adjusting to her new reality.
As much I think the story is unique, I didn't really feel the spark between Ginger and Fender. I felt like there was more chemistry between Fender and his friend Sam, or even Fender and Pops, his father. I didn't see the attraction Ginger and Fender had for each other. I did have some moments of laughter, but there were only a few. Beck Anderson shows great promise in her writing, and having read my first book by her, I know I will be on the look out for more.
*Thank you to the publicist for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*
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About the Author
Beck Anderson loves to write about love and its power to heal and grow people past their many imperfections. She is a firm believer in the phrase "mistakes are for learning" and uses it frequently to guide her in writing life and real life.
Beck balances (clumsily at best) writing novels and screenplays, working full-time as an educator, mothering two pre-teen males, loving one post-40 husband, and making time to walk the foothills of Boise, Idaho, with Stefano DiMera Delfino Anderson, the suavest Chihuahua north of the border.
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