Review: Sweetbriar Cottage by Denise Hunter

Book Description

"When Noah and Josephine Mitchell discover their divorce was never actually finalized, their lives are turned upside down.

Following his divorce, Noah gave up his dream job, settling at a remote horse ranch in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia, putting much-needed distance between himself and the former love of his life. But then Noah gets a letter from the IRS claiming he and Josephine are still married. When he confronts Josephine for the first time in months, they discover that she missed the final step in filing the paperwork and they are, in fact, still married.

Josephine is no happier about the news than Noah. Maybe the failed marriage—and okay, the botched divorce—was her fault, but her heart was shattered right alongside his, more than he would ever believe. The sooner they put this marriage behind them, the better for both of their sakes.
But when Josephine delivers the final paperwork to his ranch, the two become stranded in his cottage during the worst spring snowstorm in a decade. Being trapped with Josephine is a test of Noah’s endurance. He wrestles with resentment and an unmistakable pull to his wife—still beautiful, still brave, and still more intriguing than any woman he’s ever known.

As they find themselves confronted with each other and their shared past, old wounds surface and tempers flare. But when they are forced out into the storm, they must rely on each other in a way they never have before. Josephine finally opens up about her tragic past, and Noah realizes she’s never been loved unconditionally by anyone—including him. Will Noah accept the challenge to pursue Josephine’s heart? And can she finally find the courage to trust Noah?"

I have read several books by Denise Hunter (my favorite was Falling Like Snowflakes!), so when I saw she had a new book releasing I was excited to have an opportunity to review it.  Sweetbriar Cottage was not at all like I thought it was going to be.  Denise Hunter usually has a character in her books that have some kind of difficult past or something traumatic that has happened to affect that character, but they also usually have a sweet romantic aspect to them as well.  Sweetbriar Cottage was different.  Josie definitely has major trauma in her past, trauma that even her husband did not know anything about.  Their divorce was not caused by a misunderstanding or minor problems but a major , heartbreaking betrayal. There was no lighthearted romantic moments in this book, but a wrestling between love, pain, and forgiveness.  The entire book felt very intense to me. Sweetbriar Cottage would not be a good book for teenage readers as it deals with some difficult topics.  I read it very quickly because I really wanted to see how everything could possibly be resolved.  I think the author did a great job bringing to light the idea that things are not always as they seem and there is nothing that can't be forgiven . 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance to the FTC regulations.