A Beta Reader Review of Hannah’s Hometown Hero by Lyn Cote

I enjoy dissecting a story, exploring the characters, and discussing what happened. That's why I became a beta reader. So, I also write reviews of books when reading published literature for pleasure, and I post them here!

Hannah’s Hometown Hero by Lyn Cote is a contemporary Christian romance novel that centers on Hannah, a food column writer, and Guthrie, the carpenter in charge of building her parents’ home in their new town.

Guthrie was gloomy and brooding through most of the book, and it felt like the Hannah had to drag everything out of him. It felt unrealistic that she would fall in love with a man who fell apart emotionally whenever something bad would happen, all with the perfect words. She never really deals with her own romantic past, either; she just tells him about it. She doesn’t really grow throughout the story—she’s irritatingly perfect.

There was also an introduction to a new character in the third act that feels a bit off, kind of like a cheat. I understand it was necessary to wrap up Guthrie’s storyline, but mentioning this character earlier would ease the abruptness of the introduction.

Proofreading perspective: There were lots of spots where the author forgot to use italics when writing out a though, and also forgetting to switch back to regular type when going back into narration. It was distracting. There were also unnecessary commas sprinkled throughout the book.

This is a cute story, but not necessarily remarkable.