Review: Lovely, Sweet Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2014
Two lost souls find more than love when they meet as teachers at a small school on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico.Lynn Martin arrives at the beginning of a school year as a long-term sub for the fifth grade teacher. She meets Greg Martin, in this third year of teaching sixth grade, and share a laugh and weather speculations about sharing a last name.Lynn is taking a break from wealthy and privileged students where’s been teaching at an exclusive school in Houston, Texas, while Greg is taking a break from life in general and faith in particular after losing a special friend and later both of his parents. Right from the start sparks fly and romance is in the air and Lynn and Greg start to share their lives in this little community. Lynn isn’t afraid to live out her fairly new faith, while Greg, much to her dismay, is reluctant to discuss his issues. When they realize it’s only one obstacle to sharing more than love, Greg makes excuses and starts backing away.Although Lynn has come from a life of privilege, that’s not what defines her character. It takes a frightening accident for Greg to realize that a life without her isn’t something he looks forward to.Both of them are good teachers, and I enjoyed reading the lessons and interactions in this special part of the country. Cogan doesn’t hide the beauty or the troubles the people face, nor does she try to reach deeper into reservation life than in order to tell this story of two people who meet there, realize they can’t run from their problems, and are better when they listen to God together and help each other become the people He calls them to be. Told from both Lynn and Greg’s viewpoints sometimes without breaks, Cogan’s lovely sweet romance is a natural, nicely-told story to relax with and spend a few hours on a virtual visit to the southwest US.