Book Review: A Blanket for Her Heart by RC Bonitz

Book Review: A Blanket for Her Heart by RC Bonitz

This is a sweet romance involving two middle-aged characters who carry their own baggage. The main female, Anne, has only one hand—she lost it in an accident caused by her alcoholic mother years back. Her past has left her scarred—both literally and emotionally—to the point that she has become a recluse, finding comfort in the solitude of her house, her garden, and her furniture restoration workshop. Paul, the main male protagonist, has a heart-breaking past all his own (I won’t ruin surprises here). The two meet after Paul has a bicycle accident near Anne’s house. The romance is an unlikely one: the child-like Anne refuses to emerge from her shell initially, but Paul’s determination to help her is unwavering.

I won’t include any spoilers, but I’ll only say that I enjoyed the book even though some of the characters frustrated me. But that is the mark of a good book: no one in the world is perfect, and these characters’ flaws made them three-dimensional and real. At times I wanted to jump into the book and shout at Anne, telling her it’s okay to leave her house. Paul, too, had some stubbornness that I wanted to shake out of him.

From a writer’s point of view, I enjoyed the use of alternating perspectives to provide a better understanding of Anne, Paul, and some of the other characters, as well as to add suspense.  I also enjoyed the many foil characters, designed to show us (and Anne) the different ways of living; the symbols and character histories designed to enrich our understanding of the plot; and the full-circle ending (which I will not spoil). I will note that the ending took guts to write, but it fit the rest of the story well. The book is well-written and a fast read. It’s a book full of drama, for those who like that kind of thing, and sweet romance that never becomes annoying or unbelievable. A great beach read (which is where I read it!) for fans of sweet romance and drama.