Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko
About the Book:
Former frat boy Clay Walsh has given up his reckless lifestyle and settled down to run an antique shop in a small Midwestern college town. Determined to put his partying ways behind him, Clay has become notorious for his lofty and outdated theories on love and romance. But when Amber Hewson, a free-spirited woman with a gypsy soul, rents the apartment above his shop, Clay can’t help being attracted to her spontaneous and passionate embrace of life.
New to the area, Amber finds herself surprisingly drawn to Clay and his noble ideas, but her own fears and deep wounds are difficult to overcome. Can they move beyond their differences and their pasts to attempt an “old-fashioned” courtship?
My Review:
I picked up this book to read as I have enjoyed the author’s books in the past. She has a knack for humor with a unique writing style that is both quirky and funny. However, the subject matter caused me to struggle a bit. I was struck by the legalism that Clay demonstrated throughout the book. It ended up as I got to the middle of it, I realized that it was not so much legalism as fear. Ms. Gutteridge takes this screenplay of an upcoming movie and brings it to life in the book. I may never see the movie, but the story is told well. Clay and Amber have broken pasts for different reasons. They are faced with decisions to do things differently here on out. The way they go about it looks very different.
As you read this book, it is not a book for being old fashioned, even courtship or dating. It is about flawed people. Two flawed people that are determined to do things right. One of them believes rules and guidelines will be the way to do it. The other wants goals and joy to rule her life. They both discover the root cause of what is holding them back and the true meaning of love.
My favorite part of the book was when I reached the end and it said The End, but crossed off “end” and replaced it with Beginning.
This book was provided for me for review. The opinions contained herein are my own. To purchase a copy of this book
Old Fashioned is available for sale at a variety of places, but Amazon carries it in eBook and paperback. “Old Fashioned“
