"Dear Jane" by Rachel Ward is an excellent read. While I'm generally not a huge fan of LDS romance books, this one breaks the mold by being very real, very charming, and very endearing. It goes beyond the fluff of a lot of romance books as the characters grow through experience and end up as better, but not perfect, people.
The book begins a few months after Quinn returns from a mission. During her mission she thought she had life figured out. She felt like she had a firm grasp on how things worked and even had a solid plan for when she returned. Then 3 months before she came home she received a Dear Jane letter and her picture perfect view started imploding. Once she got home things really started changing.Quinn experiences some very real, very eye opening family moments. She learns the details of her brother's quick marriage and impending divorce, and through the death of an aunt she discovers that just because you go to church and seem like you have a happy and full life doesn't mean there aren't very serious problems still to be dealt with - real life is hard.
And there is, of course, romance in this book. There's the tall, handsome, and sort of jerky Nick who Quinn knew as a missionary and is surprised to find herself closely working with at her new job. And then there's Josh, the gorgeous athletic author of the Dear Jane letter who shows up begging for forgiveness. As Quinn gets to know Nick (who's actually not a jerk at all), Josh (who fits into that perfect pre-mission plan), and herself (who might be more changed than she realizes) she realizes what and who it is she wants.
If you're looking for something amazing to read that will leave you feeling satisfied at the end, "Dear Jane" is definitely for you.
MMB was given a copy of this book to review, but the opinions are all ours.
