Beauty and the blacksmith is a sweet, romantic novella, but it never grabbed my attention. The characters are likable, though. ( )

Low 3- she seemed ashamed of him ( )

Dare's Spindle Cove series is the whip cream and cherries on top of an ice cream sundae. It's cute and fluffy, but there's rarely any body to it. This novella of the oldest Highwood daughter is no exception. From the very first novel, it's obvious Diana and the town blacksmith are infatuated with one another. If this were a regency romance novel - and not a fairy tale - there would be no way this pairing would ever work out. For those saying that a blacksmith was a well-respected, highly skilled, and much sought-after townsperson, you would be correct, but could you honestly see Elizabeth Bennet marrying a blacksmith? Of course not! The idea is ludicrous! It simply wasn't done. With that in mind, I knew this story was going to be fluffier than normal, and I prepared for the fluffiest ride of all.

Honestly, Diana and Aaron were pretty cute together, and I didn't really have any problem with them, per se. There were just other aspects of the novel that didn't make sense. For example, Diana's asthma just clears up. Apparently, she's been healed for the past couple years, but she's been hiding it to avoid going back to town. Maybe that's a real thing, but it sucked all the tension out of the novel. I was hoping Diana would have an asthmatic attack while she was with Aaron, making her and him question their decision and if she really was cut out to be a laborer's wife. Alas, no life-threatening situations here.

The biggest conflict they have is the fact they want to alternately hide/reveal their relationship. Which, makes sense because these people would never have gotten together in real life, and if they had, there's no way in hell the bride's mother would get over it, at least not as easily as Mrs. Highwood did. Honestly, I was beginning to respect the woman for doggedly pursuing bachelors on her daughters' behalf. The fact that she does a 180 and "just wants her daughter to be happy" was not only unbelievable but also disappointing. If we're going full-on cliche with the over-bearing mother, embrace it!

Overall, you could enjoy this book if you know absolutely nothing about the regency era. Everyone else will probably have a difficult time swallowing this one. ( )

Cute book. Glad she got married off though. Maybe we'll have less of Mrs. Highwood. ( )

*5 stars*
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