They Got More Than Hannah’s Blessing — A review of Hannah’s Blessing by Collette Scott

If any contemporary romance gave excellent advice to its readers, it’s this one. It tells lovers, and readers, not to make assumptions. It reminded me a lot of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. There is a small amount of language and non-graphic sexual reference in the book dealt with appropriately for any adult or young adult reader.

I mostly read romance because I write romance. Sometimes after I finish one I want that piece of my life back. This one charmed me from beginning to end. Collette Scott writes about real people. The book explores the consequences of our assumption-making. It also makes an excellent point about how many people we can affect or hurt with the best of intentions. There are so many fun and interesting secondary characters in the book.

Diana, the main character, starts the story as a wronged woman. The fate of her husband was a perfect “let the punishment fit the crime” irony. The title character, their daughter Hannah, unwittingly brings into Diana’s life her late husband’s stepbrother, Devlan, who has made his niece his sole heir. Devlan’s rich, handsome, brilliant, successful, and yet can’t manage to communicate clearly to the one person in the world who matters most. It’s not Hannah. She loves, trusts, and relies on him with all the sweet innocence of a child in spite of his social blunders.

Diana is deeply wounded after six years of marriage to the wrong brother. She has listened to lies, tried to trust, and felt the pain of betrayal too long. Devlan, experienced with business, celebrity and all the rest of life, is too inexperienced with “real” women to win her trust. Diana is a runner, and how and why she runs from Devlan is pretty stunning. How and why he finally decides it’s time to chase her, and how that turns out is also stunning.

http://www.amazon.com/Hannahs-Blessing-Collette-Scott/dp/1463539967