Book Forty-Seven: “Dry Creek Sweethearts”, Janet Tronstad, Steeple Hill Love Inspired, April, 2008, Larger Print
“Dry Creek” Series
Dry Creek Sweethearts, is my favorite of the five “Dry Creek” romance that I’ve read. Janet Tronstad’s writing in “Dry Creek Sweethears” is exceptionally clear and precise. Reading it reminds me of the ping you hear when you tap a fine lead crystal glass. It also reminds me of when I read my first Hemingway novel and wondered why everyone didn’t write as clearly. Well, while there have been thousands of imitators, there hasn’t been a second Hemingway.
I should point out that of all the romance writers that I’ve read, Janet Tronstad is the one I would bet could write a best-selling mainstream novel, right now, today. Of course, I would not want to lose Janet Tronstad to the romance field but I would really enjoy seeing her talent put to a really big challenge.
I found Dry Creek Sweethearts to be a very special inspirational romance. This is the first inspirational that I’ve read where the inspirational message was so fully intergraded into the plot while at the same time the story would also make an excellent stand alone non-inspirational novel. This is very hard to do.
For example, here’s what I found with many mystery romances: either you get a strong mystery and a weaker romance or a very storng romance and a weaker mystery story. With historical romances, I found that often you get very accurate history and a weaker romance or a very good romance and just sketchy history. The same dynamics work with inspirational romances.
Inspirationals are my favorite romances. Often the inspirational part carries the story and without the spiritual message the story is weak. Sometimes the story is strong but the inspiration elements are just added later with a few lines of italicized prayers every twenty pages or so. In these books the inspiration part is not really integrated into the plot. Both types of books are satisfying because the reading enjoyment level is high. (If not they would not have been published. ) With Dry Creek Sweethearts, however, both traditional and inspiration elements are strong enough to stand alone and make an excellent story. (This is probably way too technical but I just had to point this out as it is so unusual.)
In Dry Creek Sweethearts, the hero is a former “bad boy” who was sent to the tiny town of Dry Creek to live with an elderly great aunt as a child because he tried to “steal” a car in Chicago. Dry Creek is very small. As far as I can tell the town has a hardware store, a café that does not open on Sunday, and a church. That’s it except for a few houses. Dry Creek might have some other buildings but they were not in this story. This is very rural Montana.
The heroine runs the café and supports her little sister who is not of legal age. The hero once asked the heroine to marry him when they were 18 years old. She said no. The hero then left town to pursue a music career. Shortly thereafter, the heroine went to Hollywood thinking she might marry the hero and go on the road with him. Unfortunately, her mother died and she had to go back to Dry Creek to raise her sister.
The hero, a singer called, the Jazz Man, had a good recording career. He wisely saved a lot of his money. His band has turned over with all new players as the old members left to establish a stable home life. As the story starts the hero is burned-out and wants to go back to Dry Creek to think about his life. He inherited his great aunt’s house which is always there for him should he want to return to Dry Creek.
Even though there are not many people in Dry Creek and there is not all that much happening, the story is fully engaging. I stopped reading everything else until I finished this book. I think this is one of the best inspirationals of the year. The story is very believable. The hero is a good, clean-cut man, who treats others very well. The hero and heroine are ideal for each other and I feel very confident that they will have a HEA.
Excellent -- My Favorite “Dry Creek” book.
Thanks,
Vince
“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince
