Smitten

Smitten was a wonderful collection of novellas written through the collaboration of Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter.

The storyline of Smitten is as follows. In the small working town of Smitten, Vermont, four friends are convinced they are going to save the town -through love. The lumber mill of Smitten is closing. As the major employer of the townspeople, how will the town ever survive without it? A close group of women- Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese - think they have the perfect plan to save Smitten. They will use the name of the town and make the place the go-to romantic location for honeymooners and tourists. The women envision sweet shops, a spa, romantic music, and cabins outfitted with all the necessities.

However, is this logging, manly town ready for the invasion of lovers and ....love?

Country music star Sawyer Smitten decides to help by holding his own wedding in Smitten on Valentine's Day. And little Mia's lavender wreaths decorate the town, reminding all that faith can work miracles. As Smitten transforms, the four women leading the way - energetic Natalie, sophisticated Julia, graceful Shelby, and athletic Reese - find that they too are being changed by love.

I really enjoyed Smitten. The format what was not what I was expecting, but I truly liked it. Smitten is a collection of four novellas. Each novella is written by one of the four authors, and each novella focuses on one of the four women who are the primary characters of the collection (Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese). All four of the novellas are also connected, and each one flows into the next. For example, the first novella is written by Colleen Coble, tells the story of Natalie, and sets the stage for the transformation of Smitten, Vermont. The final story is written by Denise Hunter relates the story of Reese.  It occurs almost a full year after the first story, concluding on the Valentine's Day of the wedding of Sawyer Smitten and the real beginning of the town's new direction. One particular reason why I liked the format of the book was that each author got to put their flavor into the story and make their character have some of their characteristics. The authors really capitalized on their friendship and used it to develop the friendship of their characters and to make the book truly believable.

I also fell in love with the overall plot line and each individual story of Smitten. The love lives of the four women in the story were each different and each very enjoyable to read. I read the entire book in one day because I just could not put it down. I will definitely be reading the second installment of life in Smitten, Vermont when it comes out next winter.

If anyone wants to check out some of the background behind the book and see other cool extras, you can go to SmittenVermont.com .

I received this book for free from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.