Book Review: "Snow Melts in Spring" by Deborah Vogts

Veterinarian Mattie Evans enjoys her work in Flint Hills, Kansas, almost as much as she loves gruff old rancher and father figure, John McCray. When John's estranged son, Gil, proposes selling the land and moving his father to California, she's drawn into a bitter family conflict that exposes deep-seated secrets. Can she make Gil see reason?

After reading this book, Kansas definitely isn't just Dorothy's home anymore! Deborah Vogts has written a lovely first novel about a determined veterinarian, a grizzled old man, and a football star at the end of his prime. The three characters are thrown together after a series of mishaps that happen out on the farm. All three have decidedly different personalities so when they're all together, they seem to clash horribly at first. Gil got on my nerves in the beginning of the book. I know that he's been out of the area for a bit and that he's not on good terms with his father. Plus he's been a big shot NFL player and is now back in small town America. It just rankled me how as soon as he gets back he just seems to want to take things over and then gets highly suspicious of Mattie. The kicker is that he just assumes she's having a relationship with his father and is out to get the property simply because he sees her making cookies for his father and treating him with kindness. His dad mellows out throughout the story and you can see that his one soft spot is for Mattie. The doc is a caring woman who loves animals very much. It's heartbreaking to read about animals in hurt conditions but she is the type of person who does everything in her power to fix them up or at least try to take away their pain as best she can. I really appreciated the realistic situations on the farm, the involvement of the animals and even the NFL scenes. They didn't seem fake or written by someone who doesn't really know how football is played. It's a minor plot in the book but just the little details really make it stand out more and were greatly appreciated.

While I enjoyed this book, for me it felt though like there wasn't anything new explored in the book. I just didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the story that hasn't already been done in other novels. It was just for me, a very safe book that can be seen as a comfort read. There's nothing wrong with that and if you enjoy a sweet contemporary romance and especially with animals this is the perfect book for you. I will be looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

Snow Melts in Spring by Deborah Vogts is published by Zondervan (2009)

Other books on tour with this book:

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Cindy’s Stamping and Reviews
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Gatorskunz and Mudcats
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J’s Spot
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Lighthouse Academy
Net’s Book Notes
Relz Reviewz
Rose McCauley, Christian Author
Sherry Kyle
Springs Writers
The Friendly Book Nook
The Write Message
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