Book: A Vote of Confidence (Sisters of Bethlehem Springs book #1) by Robin Lee Hatcher
Rating: 3 stars
Review:
Although the description does not state it, this is faith based book. It's set in Bethlehem Springs, a small town in Idaho during the 1900s. The story is about 28 year old Guinevere "Gwen" Arlington who decides to run for mayor following a suggestion from her twin sister Cleo. Gwen feels she could do a lot to improve her town because at the time the only person running for the position was the town's bar owner and sometimes town drunk Hiram Tattersall.
On her way out to her father's ranch to discuss her decision with both her father and Cleo, she met her soon to be new opponent Morgan McKinley. McKinley was building a health and faith spa but was having trouble with the local bureaucracy namely Harrison Carter.
Carter has an ulterior motive for his not wanting McKinley's spa to be completed and in hopes of thwarting him, Carter threw his approval to Gwen (mainly because he thought she would be easy to control).
But Gwen wasn't some weak willed person that Carter could impose his will on, she was smart and opinionated and preferred to be known for more than her beauty.
With the campaign starting up, the last thing either Gwen or Morgan wanted to think about was romance since both had bad experiences in the past which has soured their view on romance.
Even though this was an easy breezy somewhat predictable read I found the spirituality to be a very heavy-handed presence instead of being something more subtle.
Although this pertains to nothing in this book, but as I read the story I couldn't help seeing My Little Pony's Rarity as Gwen and Applejack as Cleo since the sisters had a very city vs. country lifestyle and personality comparison.
This was a nice story but a huge disappointment I had with this book was the fact that it mentioned the name of one of the most racist movies ever. Yeah, this book is supposed to be set during the 1900s but I don't understand why the author would even include it even as a mere mention.
The story kinds of drags occasionally and even more so as it nears the end. I do wish there had been a little more character development because it seems like each of the characters were stuck in a specific role and couldn't do anything other wise. I also wish there had been more depth to the story as well. As of now, I'm not sure if I want to read the second book unless I can find it for free.
So, in the end this was a pleasant enough story but perhaps a little too heavy with the spiritualty.
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