Noah Mitchell thought his life was on track until he received a notice from the IRS claiming that his tax return contained an error notifying him that he was still married. Believing that to simply be a mistake on the part of the IRS because he remember signing all the required paperwork when he and Josephine got divorced. Now if he could only find his set of documents it would all be cleared up. However when his attorney checks on the status of the divorce, even they don't have the final paperwork with the judges signature on it. He immediately confronts his ex wife, Josephine and when she checks her paperwork, they both are shocked to learn she never submitted the paperwork to the court and for the last year and a half, they are both technically still married.
Noah is furious and rightfully so, even though Josephine promises she will take care of it this time, he doesn't trust she will follow through with her promises, and decides to take matters into his own hands. Yet with running a busy ranch tucked away in the mountains, Noah can't make it back to town to have Josephine sign the paperwork and get it submitted to the courts until Saturday. Josephine feels she owes this much to Noah and decides that she will take the paperwork to Noah so it is one last errand he has to handle and since she ruined things the first time, she feels she need to make amends. However the last thing she expects when she shows up to his ranch is for her car to not start and for an unexpected ice storm to strand her at Noah's home with no where else to go, but to wait it out. Things are about to get a bit too cozy when despite all the weather predictions, they will be forced to wait things out until the storm front passes through the area.
This time alone will provide just the needed time for both of them to come to terms with their pasts and finally get things out in the open. And just when you think things couldn't get any worse, they lose all power at the ranch, no phones, no computer, no electricity and no heat. With their limited supplies and temperatures dropping, will Noah and Josephine be able to pick up the pieces of their shattered pasts and find hope for a possible new future they missed the first time around? Or will this just solidify the facts that they should have never gotten married in the first place? Only time will tell!
I received Sweetbriar Cottage by Denise Hunter compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and TLC Book Tours. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. This is a stand alone novel for Denise Hunter and the title seems a bit off for the content of the novel. It doesn't take anything away from the story and I love the way this all played out for Noah and Josephine whose own pasts are revealed as the novel toggles between present day and each of their past history so the reader is brought to the present day and understands how the two even got together in the first place. Like fire and oil, these two both have to defy the odds that the world has placed in front of them if they're to survive the storm. Yet sometimes it is the storms of life that bring us closer together and define our faith to provide a second chance at happiness and love. I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars and it even included Discussion Questions at the conclusion of the novel that makes this a perfect book club novel.
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I'm glad you enjoyed this book. Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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