Book Review of To Gain a Valentine by Tanya Eavenson

I was hooked on To Gain a Valentine by Tanya Eavenson from page one and couldn’t put it down. The main character, Patrick only intended to briefly return to his childhood town in order to help out his sister with her pets while she was on vacation.

But, he didn’t count on the animals being so much trouble. They escaped cages and fences, were eaten or died. Thankfully, he had an ally with an old friend who happened to own a pet store! She also had once had a crush on Patrick and he on her. In any Romance story, chance brings them together over and over as Patrick fights to keep his sister’s menagerie alive so his young nephews come home to their pets.

There are several things by which I evaluate a book.

1) Is it well written? Yes, I found few typos or grammatical errors in To Gain a Valentine.

2) Does it deliver what it promises? Yes, it was a sweet, clean romance, nothing more, nothing less.

3) Is it the kind of book that captures my attention and I ‘can’t put it down’? Yes, I found that I looked forward to reading the story and finished it in less than a day, even though I had to fit a full work day in, and several appointments.

4) Is the story predictable and cliché? If a writer can shock me or have a twist that I didn’t see coming, that deserves super high marks. Unfortunately, To Gain a Valentine was indeed predictable and cliché, but that didn’t really detract from my enjoyment because most books are.

Negatives? The conflict was unbalanced. Just when I thought there was a major conflict coming, it resolved itself ‘off-screen’ and was over before it began. There were also multiple references to a big Valentine’s Day dance, but that, too fell short of my expectations. It ended too soon and I was left feeling like there should have been more to the story. But, I rather enjoyed the book, and it was well-written so that made it okay. It was memorable, and I like that.

Have you read To Gain a Valentine by Tanya Eavenson? What’s your opinion? –Julie L. Spencer

Read my Interview with the Author Tanya Eavenson here!

Other books by Tanya Eavenson:

Who is Ian Taylor? Find out here!