The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allan
Dayle King Searle
File Size: 2830 KB
Print Length: 282 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Books to Go Now (November 5, 2018)
Publication Date: November 5, 2018
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07K7Y6M8S
Description
Jack Allan cannot count the number of times he’s been approached with invitations beginning something like, “My sister has a friend…” It seems as if everyone in the small town of Corbett, Idaho, is intent on finding a wife for him--everyone except for Jack himself. The townspeople gossip that this is because Jack, a young widower, has not gotten over the death of his wife, Katelin, and in a way they are right. However, it isn’t his undying love for Katelin which is holding Jack back. Rather it is the memory of events surrounding her death, events about which only he knows and which have left him filled with guilt.
Undeterred, Ruby Henderson, Jack’s feisty neighbor, introduces him to her granddaughter, Ally. Jack unwittingly finds himself attracted to Ally, and it seems she is attracted to him too. So he is stunned when he finally asks her out and she turns him down his by saying it would be best if they were just friends. This sets in motion events which lead Jack into one romantic entanglement after another and with not one possible romantic interest but three.
Set against the backdrop of farming and small town life, The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allan is filled with amusing characters. It tells a story which is sometimes humorous and sometimes poignant as Jack struggles with his guilt while also working to sort out his love life and those of the people around him.
My Thoughts
Those that know me or can relate to my reading habits know that a romance story is a switch for me. But I found The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allan to be an engaging and somewhat humorous read which drew me in on the first page.
While the story touches on the sad fact that Jack's a widower, it steers in the direction of a brighter future.
As one might anticipate, Jack's life has become a part of the gossip mill, where rural folk appear keen on helping him find a wife.
The lifestyle of the small farming community in Corbett, Idaho I found fascinating. The events that occurred were amusing and the characters well described. Each was memorable and seemed authentic.
I received a copy of this book through the generosity of the author.
About the Author
Dayle King Searle is a true Idaho girl. Other than two years in California (which her husband says was just enough to give her a little bit of attitude) she has lived her entire life in southern Idaho. She was born in Pocatello, and has lived in Preston, Meridian (where she graduated from high school), Rexburg, and American Falls. She and her husband, Ron, now live in Shelley on a piece of farm land previously owned by his father. They have six children and an ever growing number of grandchildren.
As a freelance writer Dayle's work has appeared in a wide variety of publications including Rocky Mountain Gardening, Zone 4 Magazine, Farm Times, The Ensign, The New Era, and The Friend. Early in her career, her work received several awards including two first place and a second place awards for fiction in the New Era writing contest in the 1980s and first place for fiction in the American Mothers, Inc. National Literary awards in 1999.
Following the birth of her fifth child, Dayle took a little time off from writing to raise her large family. When her youngest child started kindergarten, she went back to school as well. She earned an associate of applied science in landscaping from Eastern Idaho technical College and a bachelor's degree in horticulture with an emphasis on landscape design from BYU-Idaho. She owns her own landscape design company, Echoes of Eden, which allows her to feed her craving for every plant she sees by telling other people to plant them in their yards.
Now with her children all grown, Dayle has gone back to her roots in writing fiction. Her first novel, The Reluctant Courtship of Jack Allan, was released in November of 2018.