Jessie Belle (The Women of Merrytown Book #1)

Jennifer
Peel
Genre: 
Inspirational

Jessie Summers and her husband Blake just haven’t connected since their baby was stillborn and they learned that Jessie couldn’t have more children. And then Blake drops a bombshell—he fathered a child with Jessie’s old roommate when they had broken up briefly. It was before they married, but it’s still devastating to Jessie, considering she’ll never have a child of her own.  Can their marriage survive the major challenge of having a teen step-daughter along with the emotional wasteland that their loss has driven them to?

“Jessie Belle” is a moving, captivating read.  The first person point of view conveys Jessie’s myriad of emotions vividly.  Through Jessie’s eyes, it’s obvious that Blake is the only man for her, but there are many obstacles they have to overcome to keep their marriage together - not the least of which is Maddie, Blake’s daughter.  The reader goes on this journey with Jessie as she heals from the loss of her baby son, and her confusion and pain at a marriage gone stale after thirteen years, not to mention suddenly being cast as stepmother.  Blake is a hero that will have readers feeling completely in love with at times, but in others, annoyed at his incomprehensible insensitivity and remoteness towards Jessie.  While this is a nearly flawless read, an understanding of Blake’s personality quirks and the cause of his lack of emotional intelligence would have taken this to five star territory.  Contemporary romance novel and women’s fiction readers will find their tastes intersect perfectly with “Jessie Belle.”

Danielle Hill