Wit and Sin

http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2016/12/review-marry-me-on-main-street-by-luann.html

Marry Me on Main Street is a super cute romance that’s sure to get you in the holiday spirit. LuAnn McLane’s eleventh Cricket Creek novel is a fast-paced, cheerful addition to the series and it’s a book that’s perfect to curl up with when you’re in the mood for something uplifting.

Danny is one of my favorite Cricket Creek heroes. He’s so kind, generous, patient, and warm-hearted that you wish he were real so you could snap him up. Danny’s biggest flaw is that he’s almost too giving, sacrificing his dream of woodworking in order to run his parents’ business and help his siblings run their own. Lately it’s been starting to wear on him and he feels like he doesn’t have his life together. For me, Danny’s internal struggle – whether to stay the course and not rock the boat or to go for his dreams – was the highlight of the book. It was relatable, interesting, and had me invested in the story from beginning to end. As for Susan, she’s a likeable heroine who is a little shy, somewhat insecure, and a bit slapstick klutzy. Susan didn’t grab my attention the way some other Cricket Creek heroines have, which was a pity because when I like a hero as much as I liked Danny, I want to be equally intrigued by their heroine. That’s not to say the romance was bad – far from it. After the first third of the book, Danny and Susan have a fast-paced, sweet romance. The only drama that comes in is manufactured by Susan, and it did make me want to shake her a couple of times. Given that Danny is the kind of hero who wears his feelings openly, Susan’s fears and avoidance tactics didn’t feel organic. Still, while I had a couple of issues, their romance is charming and lively for the most part, and by the end of the book the two of them had me grinning.

As with all of the Cricket Creek stories I’ve read, there’s a secondary romance, this one involving Susan’s friend and employee, Betsy, and the handsome former-lawyer-turned-deli-owner, John. Betsy and John’s romance was lovely and understated, but sometimes felt a bit too similar to the main love story. Both of them had interesting potential backstories that – had they been better fleshed out – would have made them shine and stand apart from the younger couple.

Marry Me on Main Street is a story of facing your fears and taking a chance on love. And what better, safer place can there be to do so than in Cricket Creek? The idyllic small Kentucky town is a character in and of itself in this series and it’s always a delight. If the town and its residents sometimes come off as too good to be true, then that’s okay. Once in a while it’s nice to take a break from the real world and enjoy something sweet, and Marry Me on Main Street fits the bill perfectly.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.