Dear Ruth by Kim FieldingRating: 4 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Short Story


When you’ve returned home to escape a painful breakup, the last thing you expect is to lose the one person who knows you best.

Bryce is just trying to get through the holiday after losing his mom suddenly. He doesn’t have many friends in the small town of Bailey Springs and yet the place is home—the only one he’s really ever known. Besides being the Deputy Fire chief, Bryce has also been roped into taking over his mother’s advice column, Dear Ruth. If all that isn’t enough of a distraction, the new neighbor with the adorable little daughter has caught Bryce’s eye, but the guy surely must be straight and Bryce’s silly crush has got to just stop. But what if the guy isn’t straight? Is Bryce ready to be brave enough to find out?

Dear Ruth by Kim Fielding is a delightful little morsel that’s sure to become a holiday favorite for many. Bryce is charming and shy, nerdy about fire regulations as only a fire chief can be, and absolutely smitten by Noah, the new neighbor. As he attempts to batten down his growing crush, he also grapples with missing his mom and deciding if the little town he’s returned to is really the place for him to settle down in permanently. Bryce has a habit of running from his problems and that includes taking a risk on discovering if Noah is truly what he appears—straight and unavailable. While we get a bit of a feel for who Noah is in this story, it’s really all about Bryce and how he copes with not only losing his mom, but trying to decide once and for all where he should be.

Dear Ruth takes a shy, by the book fireman and throws a monkey wrench in the form of a hot neighbor into the mix and the resulting story is magically sweet and humorous. All in all, this lovely short story is a happy holiday romance that will put a smile on your face.

A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.

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