Doesn't She Look Natural?

[Holly]

After a painful divorce, Jennifer Graham finds that she has inherited a small-town funeral home from an elderly great uncle. Needing a fresh start, she and her children move from Virginia to Florida. The Fairlawn funeral home is in need of remodeling and repair, much like Jen's own life.
As Jen embarks on this new journey, she meets new people, makes new friends and learns about herself and her relationship with God along the way. The Christian theme is subtle throughout the book.

The story is light and predictable. Jen decides to keep Fairlawn, and run it, rather than sell it. There is very little depth and minor character development. It's a nice little story that had potential. I liked Jen. I loved Gerald. I thought the ex-husband was a cad, but there was also very little backstory and the conclusion was just a little too convenient for me.

My big complaint with this story is the narration. Jen's story is told in first-person, which I rarely like. The chapters then alternate between Jen and the other characters like her mom, Gerald, and her son. These supporting characters aren't written as first-person, but are an awkward present-tense third-person narrative. It was actually quite annoying and very distracting. The story would have been much stronger had the author maintained the same style throughout it.

I'd give this 2.5 stars. It's a good, not great, story that had a lot of unfulfilled potential.