Love in Due Time by L.B. Dunbar

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Title: Love in Due Time
Author: L.B. Dunbar
Series: Green Valley Library #1
Published by: Smartypants Romance
Release Date: October 22, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 346
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Source: Social Butterfly PR
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks
My rating:

Blurb:

Naomi Winters will be forty—soon-ish—and she’s only been with one man. One night. One time. Long ago. She believes everything happens for a reason, and the universe spoke about Nathan Ryder.

Nathan Ryder isn’t the same man who hightailed his bike out of Green Valley eighteen years ago. As a rule breaker, women are one area he acts a fool. Case in point…the local librarian. He can’t get a read on her, but she’s one risk he’s willing to take. Again.

What do an eccentric librarian and a sexy silver biker have in common? More than you think. The due date on their love might not be expired after all.

'Love in Due Time' is a full-length, contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book#1 in the Green Valley Library series.

My Review:

I received a free copy through Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — This book started REALLY strong, and I was laughing out loud at some of the inner thoughts of Naomi.  There were still a lot of things I loved about the story, but I also sort of got tripped up by the writing on occasion.  I’m not sure what exactly about it, sometimes I really can’t clarify, you know?  But it made it harder to stay connected to the characters and their journey.

Naomi was a strange heroine for me.  I felt so much for her, what she went through growing up, as well as the tragedies and guilt/shame she was carrying around.  But I think the fact that she was so much older, that she had so many years of life under her belt, made it harder for me to understand her lack of movement.  She carried an awful burden for 18 years, and as such, sometimes it was like being in the head of a much younger woman.  It stunted her growth.  I’m not saying it’s not realistic, just that I, personally, had a harder time connecting with her because of it.

I enjoyed the silver fox of Nathan as the hero.  I appreciated that we got to see vulnerability in this big biker guy.  He was sensitive and felt a lot, and I loved how earnestly he pursued Naomi.  About the only thing that didn’t quite work for me is that I wouldn’t have minded seeing him interacting with his daughters a bit more throughout the story…they spent more time on the periphery.

The romance between Nathan and Naomi was surprisingly sweet *and* steamy.  I enjoyed their dates, their little daily interactions, seeing them get to know one another.  That poem pretty much sold me on Nathan though, SWOON city.

I appreciated the look we got, through Naomi, into the life of a Wiccan, and what some of those beliefs might entail.  It was an interesting balance in the book, b/c she was mocked because of it, and even Nathan teased her on a few things, but in general I thought it was presented with respect.

I’ve read 3 different stories now in the Smartypants Romance Universe, and it was interesting to see how each author chose to integrate their stories in the world.  In this one it felt like the major characters of the Winston Brothers existed very much in the background of the story, and it was more about the world of Green Valley.  I didn’t mind this, but I will admit my preference is for more significant cameos…but that’s just me.

All in all, this was a solid romance read for me.  And I will admit, I really appreciated having older main characters to follow, especially ones not daunted by their age.