Book Review of Country Hearts by Cindi Madsen

Hallmark Publishing is releasing Country Hearts by Cindi Madsen on January 21, 2020, just in time to infuse a little romance into the lead up to Valentine’s Day. But don’t be surprised if you see this book in movie form next year during Hallmark Channel’s Love Ever After lineup, because this book has all the ingredients of a Hallmark movie in the making.  If the grand plan is for Hallmark Publishing to feed the Hallmark Channel pipeline (which would make brilliant business sense), I’ve just found a new guilty pleasure to add to my book shelf as a compliment to the line-up of saved movies on my DVR.  (And in fact, Crown Media recently announced that The Secret Ingredient airing in February has been adapted from a Hallmark Publishing book.)

In true Hallmark fashion, Country Hearts’ story takes a city girl, Jemma Monroe, who was recently laid off from her job, and makes her a fish out of water in the small ranching and farming community of Haven Lake. No Hallmark story would be complete without a handsome leading man, in this case neighbor Wyatt Langford, who will work hard to resist Jemma while simultaneously proving through his chivalry and charm that he’s not as terrible as first impressions lead Jemma to believe. Mix in a handsome single dad, Wyatt, his delightful daughter, Bailey Rae, and that Jemma is the substitute teacher covering Bailey Rae’s class, and these three will be thrown together in some wonderful situations including the most delightful school play.

The supporting characters Camilla, April, Essie, Dempsey, and Bailey Rae’s snake wrangling classmate Chase round out this fun read and make the warmth of the small town palpable…so much so that in Real Life I want to visit Haven Lake, and in particular I want to hang out at the Havenly Brew Coffee Shop. Not only does it sound like the cutest coffee shop ever, with its mismatched chairs, but the coffee descriptions are mouthwatering. If I spent time at this Haven Lake hot spot, one of two things might happen to me: I’d get a delicious coffee named after me, or the nosey yet charming and loving neighbors will meddle in my love life and begin to set me up with a local. Either way, sign me up!

If you are looking to curl up with a good read that will put you in the Valentine’s Day spirit, check out Cindi Madsen’s Country Hearts. You’ll be cheering for this couple all the way.