Kerry Winfrey’s light, sprightly romance Just Another Love Song follows high school sweethearts who get a second chance at love 15 years after their post-graduation breakup.
Hank Tillman and Sandy Macintosh once planned on leaving their tiny town of Baileyville, Ohio, and following their dreams together. In the years after high school, Hank became a famous country music singer, but Sandy, who wanted to be an artist, never left home. Even though she let her painting fall by the wayside, she’s discovered happiness in other areas, namely in running her greenhouse and helping out at her parents’ bed-and-breakfast. Everything changes, however, when Hank comes back to Baileyville for their 15-year high school reunion.
Just Another Love Song is full of quirky characters who provide plenty of colorful commentary on Hank and Sandy’s relationship. It’s delightful but also distracting at times, because those townspeople take up space in the narrative that could have been dedicated to the main couple. Winfrey is the queen of charming and cozily sweet contemporary romances, and it’s clear that the foundation Hank and Sandy built as teenagers is still there, so it’s no surprise that their journey back to each other is low on angst. But one of the most interesting aspects of Just Another Love Song is Winfrey’s illustration of how the hopes and dreams of youth can be not only encouraging but also overwhelming and debilitating. Hank and Sandy have a much better chance of making things work now that they’re in their 30s, with life experience to balance the stars in their eyes.
Although this slow-burn romance may unfold a bit too sedately for some, Winfrey’s trademark snappy dialogue and well-paced character development provides much to enjoy along the way.
