With This Ring by Amy Clipston (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Title: With This Ring

Author:  Amy Clipston

Narrated by:  Brittany Goodwin

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 45 minutes

Source: Audiobook Review Copy from NetGalley, physical book copy from Thomas Nelson as a part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank you!

Do you like to wear rings?  Do you have a favorite ring or one that is the most meaningful?

Dakota and Huson broke off their engagement seven years before when Hudson left their small town for New York City with dreams of making it big in business.  Dakota stayed behind and pursued her dream of starting a bridal boutique.  Hudson has returned to town after selling his company as his sister is engaged and planning her wedding.  Will Dakota and Hudson reconnect?  Will they be able to work through their problems from the past?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       As February nears, I was in a mood to read a romance novel.  This had one of my favorite tropes – second chance romance.

·       This novel was a lot of fun.  My favorite part was that there was roller-skating rink that one of Dakota’s friends had bought, restored, and runs.  Dakota teaches skating lessons there on the weekend.  There are fun activities, and it is the core of the social scene in town.

·       The fictional setting was Flowering Grove, North Carolina.  I loved the name of this town!

·       There is just something I love about bridal boutiques.  I enjoy reading about them and Dakota’s struggles as she tries to keep her business afloat.  She needs to learn how to ask for help, but Hudson needs to learn to stop controlling everyone.

·       Hudson drove me insane when he would just throw money at everything and boss everyone around.  He was so rude to his sister and her fiancé.

·       Hudson’s pursuit of money alienated both his family and Dakota.  He reminded me of Ebenezer Scrooge at times.  I like that by the end of the novel, the reader understands why he behaved the way he did.

·       I liked that Hudson and Dakota both had redemptive arcs, and both had to learn how to be their best selves and the best to those they love in their lives.

·       This is a clean romance.

·       I listened to the audiobook.  The narrator was great, and it was a fun book.  There were some odd pauses in the audiobook, but that may be because it was a review copy.

Overall, With this Ring by Amy Clipston is a sweet, clean second chance romance with a redemptive arc.  If this novel doesn’t make you want to roller-skate, I don’t know what will.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Dakota Jamison spends her days making brides’ dreams come true. But when will the time finally come for her own storybook ending?

Dakota thought she had left her dreams of happily-ever-after behind, along with the pain of a broken engagement to her high school sweetheart, Hudson. Now, as the proud owner of Fairytale Bridal Shop in the picturesque town of Flowering Grove, she's built a life and a business on helping brides find their perfect dress for their own fairytale weddings. But running a small business is not for the faint of heart, and when her ex-fiancé unexpectedly returns to town with a mission—to put a stop to his sister's wedding—Dakota’s problems go from bad to worse.

Hudson Garrity should be living his dream. After selling his software company, he’s single, handsome, and rich, but an unexpected call from his baby sister has him flying down to his hometown, determined to protect Layla from yet another big mistake. Though he’s single-minded in his effort to derail the nuptials, he instead finds himself thrown into family chaos and roped into helping his sister with her plans . . . bringing him once more into contact with Dakota Jamison, the one who got away.

For Hudson, coming home means revisiting his painful childhood, repairing a strained relationship with his sister, and coming face-to-face with the woman he never stopped loving. For Dakota, it means confronting the tender memories she buried deep within her heart. As Layla’s wedding date draws close, the two reunited lovers begin to question if what went wrong between them really happened the way they remembered it at all. Will they continue believing the lies they’ve told themselves, or will they remain forever entangled in the threads of what could have been?

With This Ring by bestselling novelist Amy Clipston is a touching tale of rekindled romance, rediscovery, and the transformative power of forgiveness.

AUTHOR BIO

Amy Clipston is an award-winning bestselling author and has been writing for as long as she can remember. She's sold more than one million books, and her fiction writing "career" began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories. She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan University and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. Amy works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC, and lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and four spoiled rotten cats. Visit her online at AmyClipston.com.