Book Review #heartsinbloom #saraohlin #smalltownromance
Hearts in Bloom is a sweetly, simple romance that focus on family in all its forms. Sara Ohlin crafts her words with care and clarity, beautifully mapping out this small town romance. Ohlin's writing is accessible and well paced. Using a third person omniscient point of view, she weaves in and out of the hero and heroine's minds to provide an ease of understanding where each person is in each moment. I adore a small town, single dad romance, and this novel is a charming and lovely exploration of these well beloved tropes.
Overall, I found this novel to be an easy and charming read. Both the hero and heroine are well rounded people, both working trough their own past issues (content notes for suicide and infertility), but through their attraction for the other, they are able to slowly start to open themselves up. Ohlin also utilizes the hero's twins with understanding and care, they create clear understanding of the joys and scares of loving someone, they help to open our heroine's heart, and watching a small family form a new foundation is really lovely. Ohlin also does a lovely job in the progression of passion and chemistry, the attraction between them sizzles but there is also a layer of caution before they fully enter into a physical relationship which helps to illustrate the trust and consent that needs to grow between them.
This novel was a delightful way to be introduced to Sara Ohlin as an author. So many things beautifully work together to form a really solid romance. I am not the biggest fan of third person omniscient points of view, I find that sometimes I can't fully connect with each characters inner emotions. At times I did feel a bit of disconnect with the characters but overall this was not a big issue and does not distract from this heartfelt romance.
Thank you so much to Sara Ohlin for sending me a physical copy of this novel, all thoughts and opinions are my own.