Review: A STAR SHINES OVER STARLIGHT, IOWA
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 23, 2014
Romance intended - indeed!  JoAnn Durgin’s story is a “spirit of adventure” in romance.  Authors write of romance in various intensities.  Songs sung about romance. Romance as noun, verb, or adjective, can be voiced a sundry of ways.  Starlight, Starbright is more than just a holiday romance – it is a treatment of love.  We read in this love story about romance, romancer, romanced and the passionate community of Starlight, Iowa.  Loving passion, passion in relationships, spiritual passion for the Lord, Christ’s passion for His sheep.  No less, JoAnn Durgin’s passion for beguiling story telling lovingly composed from her personal harmony of love and romance.Starlight, Iowa is the utopia I wish I could run to when I would like to get away from it all.  No wonder Dante Moretti felt drawn to become part of this community.  How and why a strange letter from two boys from Starlight leads him there was a complete mystery to him – as much as he became a mystery to Starlight.  The law of attraction began immediately when he stopped off at Barney’s Diner where owner Caroline Picasso quickly sensed the stars of heaven telling her Dante was part of God’s plan for Starlight that she should initiate.  Zowie, Amanda Marston blows through the door dotted with snowflakes - eliciting “molto bella,” from under Dante’s breath as he sees Amanda.That is how our visit in Starlight begins.  Who is Dante Moretti?  You will be immediately interested in this handsome Texas born hunk who speaks romantic Italian intermittently with English.  What do a Stetson and soccer have to do with anything?  There is a wedding in the near future, but whose?  There is a twinkling of the eyes between Dante and Amanda that carries the reader through an exciting tale of past hurts, present healings and future hopes. Will the mystery of who wrote and sent the letters to Dante drawing him to Starlight be revealed?  Starlight is filled with wonderful characters with fun personalities.  I appreciated Ms. Durgin’s blending of the romance of Christmas and the celebration of Christ’s birth.  No commercialization of the season in this town, just warm and fuzzy Christian people full of God’s grace and mercy for others.Granted, this reviewer has not told you much about the story, only because I do not want to spoil any surprises that will entertain your love of reading. I recommend this is an important book for you to read and share with a friend.  JoAnn writes from her heart and her faith to create another star in her repertoire of keenly designed novels involving the heart.  She knows the information interspersed in her writing because she researches the furthermost minute detail.  Writing is an art, and JoAnn paints wonderful pictures with the color and tone of words.  I heard it from this author personally that more exciting stories are being penned at this moment to thrill you in the future.  If there isn’t a JoAnn Durgin fan club, then that is a shame.  There should be!!