This is a new one for the RITA® Reader Challenge: Reina tried to read it, and couldn’t get through the book. So it’s a DNF/ Did Not Finish for her. But the description and her review might signal that it’s a book that may appeal to you.

Plot Summary: “Are You My Dad?”

The young boy’s question shocks Sloan Hawkins. Until Sloan realizes he is this child’s father. Years ago, the former bad boy was run out of Redemption, Oklahoma, where, ironically, he was thought unredeemable. The only people who believed in him were his beloved aunt and Annie Markham, the girl he loved and left behind. Now Sloan is back to face his past and help keep his aunt’s cherished garden thriving. But when he discovers his secret child—and that single mother Annie never stopped loving him—he’s determined that a wedding will take place in the garden nurtured by faith and love.

And here is Reina’s review:
I really wanted to like The Wedding Garden and Linda Goodnight is a solid writer, but I haven’t been able to finish the book.

I’ve tried for weeks, but there are too many frustrating wave-my-hands-in-the-air moments, mostly having to do with the secret baby plot line and the hero and heroine’s too-simplistic internal conflicts. (Sloan—I’m a bad seed and I always will be…pleeease! The guy is a successful businessman and ex-military.)

The town and secondary characters in this series are promising, but sometimes their entry seems a bit forced. What I especially liked, though, was the sense of place and lovely imagery Goodnight uses. And, if you can get past Chapter Three, the character interactions pick up, notably the relationship between Sloan and Annie’s eleven-year-old son.

Someday I may be able to finish the book and while I wouldn’t put Goodnight’s novel at the top, I might give her books another try.

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This book is available from Amazon | Kindle | BN & nook | WORD Brooklyn AllRomance