Book Review - Autumn Reflections
by Katie Mettner
About the story:
1 Corinthians 13:8: Love never fails. Grayson Hanson
likes to pretend he’s a superhero, sent to earth to fight off the bad guys. In
reality, he’s a seven-year-old boy who wears those same superheroes on his leg
braces, and fights off bullies at school. His mother, Dr. Autumn Hanson, will
do anything to protect her son, including leaving her prestigious position as
one of Duluth’s top orthopedic surgeons.
Hoping for a fresh start, she moves
Grayson to Cloquet, Minnesota and opens her own clinic. Steadfast in her desire
for a new life, Autumn agrees to be interviewed for a feature article in the
local paper. Kade Franco is a well respected journalist, who at forty-two has
had his own share of love’s regrets. As the city’s most eligible bachelor, Kade
can have any woman he wants, but he’s waiting for his meant-to-be. Where he
doesn’t expect to find her is in the beautiful hazel eyes of the newest doctor
in town.
Autumn finds Kade Franco’s sexy chocolatey brown eyes and strong
lumberjack physique to be her kryptonite. She’s spent the last seven years
building a wall around her heart, but fears it isn’t strong enough to withstand
a man of steel determined to show her love never fails.
An Excerpt:
I heard a knock and
looked up. Phoenix stood at the door with a man close behind her. “Dr. Hanson,
Kade Franco is here to see you.”
She stepped aside
and I stood up, my eyes locking with the very chocolate brown ones of Kade
Franco. “Thank you, Phoenix.” She left and I stuck my hand out across the desk.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Franco.”
He shook my hand
firmly, not too hard, but no wimpy jello-hand either. “Just call me Kade, Dr.
Hanson. Thank you for meeting with me this afternoon.”
I smiled against my
will. This man certainly wasn’t twenty-two, pimply faced or eager. He was
lumberjack tall, trim, and had legs that went on forever. His barely there wire
rims did nothing to conceal his long black lashes and his neatly trimmed scruff
surrounded his melt me into a puddle smile. A tuft of curly brown hair topped
off the man. My mind was stuck on the thought of how I’d like to wrap my
fingers in it. Whoa, sister, back up the boat and stop staring like an idiot.
“Please, call me
Autumn. Thank you for offering to do a story about my clinic.” I gushed. Good
God woman, take it down a notch. You come face-to-face with a good looking guy
and you can’t rub two brain cells together. Sit. He’s sitting already. Sit your
butt down in the chair.
My Review:
In Autumn
Reflections, book two of the Northern Light series, we follow Dr.
Autumn Hanson from book one (Granted Redemption) as she and her
physically disabled seven-year-old son Grayson move from Duluth to Cloquet to
start over.
Autumn, a forty-year old devoted
single mom, has closed her heart to any new romantic involvements because of losses
and rejections in the past. She dotes on her sweet, smart and loving son. The
stress of moving, setting up a new pediatric orthopedic clinic, worrying about
and taking care of her son, and being single and alone in Cloquet cause Autumn
to think she is having a either a nervous breakdown or a midlife crisis.
Enter Pine Journal reporter Kade Franco—lumberjack
tall with barely there wire rims and a melt-me-into-a-puddle smile. Kade interviews
her for a story about her clinic and knows in an instant she is his meant-to-be.
He also knows the hard part will be convincing Autumn.
Autumn struggles to overcome her
fear of letting a man get too close to her heart, but the wall starts to
crumble with the power of Kade’s love. The scripture themes: love is patient, love
is kind and love never fails flow through the entire story. Kade is patient yet
determined to show Autumn he will stick around to be her meant-to-be. He shows
her kindness by his gentle manner and calm presence. He shows her there is no
fear in love because his love and God’s love will never fail.
Katie Mettner does a
perfect job of describing Grayson as a super-hero-loving determined child who
worries about his momma and does whatever he can to make her smile, all the
while fighting his own demons and bullies. I love Kade’s conversations with
Grayson. He brings the conversation down to Gray’s level and they have a mutual
connection in their love for Autumn and each other. The addition of guide dog
Ace is heartwarming and special as is the description of Ace and Grayson’s
first meeting which brought tears to my eyes.
A five star
must read!
Find all of Katie's books:
Follow Katie:
