Review: Love in Due Time (Green Valley Library Series Book 1) by LB Dunbar

Love in Due Time by L.B. Dunbar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second Time Around

This is the first standalone book in a spin-off series. The original series, Winston Brothers, was by Penny Reid and this series is set in the same location, Green Valley, with a lot of the same characters. This first book got my attention because I enjoy reading books by LB Dunbar. I’ve read the first couple of books in the Penny Reid series but got sidetracked. I will have to go back and finish my read!

This book is about one of the librarians at the Green Valley Library, Naomi, who has worked there her entire working life. At 39 she’s quite stuck in her ways, living a quiet and unassuming life. She’s a practicing Wiccan and lives in a little cottage in the woods. She is often accused of being a witch but she tries to ignore that and let go of the hurt that causes her.

Naomi has only ever been with one man, when she was 21, Nathan. They were together one time and then he disappeared from Green Valley. Now he’s back and when they run into each other sparks of attraction light between them.

Nathan left Green Valley after an incident involving the Iron Wraiths MC, for who he was a prospect at the time. He ran and didn't come back until now because his family is here and he needs help raising his two daughters, Dahlia and Clementine. When he bumps into Naomi again he’s delighted to find the woman who he has thought about over the years and asks her for a series of dates to convince her that he’s not going to run away again.

This book has a lot of different threads running through it. The romance part is complicated by those threads, the history of the couple, the MC’s involvement, issues with bullying and problems with the library. The plot is tightly constructed and kept me reading as I wondered what was going to happen next.

Naomi is a wonderful character. She’s complicated and filled with regret and guilt, but is determined to try and connect with the world around her. She loves her job dearly and inspiring people, especially children, gives her life meaning. She has a highly evolved philosophy on life and tries to live according to her beliefs. I loved watching her evolve and change through the course of the book, whilst still holding true to herself.

Nathan is another character filled with guilt and regret. He loves his daughters, his mother and his brother and tries to do what is right. He has morals and tries to live life accordingly. He didn’t strike lucky with the mothers of his children and has been the main carer for both girls for some time, with the help of his mother. He’s more sad for his daughters’ sakes about the failure of his relationships. This journey is less of an evolution of character for him than it is for Naomi. His story is more about seeking happiness and being determined to hang on to it no matter what. He has to fight for his relationship to succeed and he has to let go of his guilt and regrets for his happiness to stick around.

I really like how the passion and emotion slowly grew between the two main characters. They didn’t just hop into bed with each other again, despite their history. They spent time together getting to know each other and the passion built gradually between them. It felt very real.

This is a wonderful story of two people with a complicated history taking hold of their second chance and being determined not to waste their opportunity. Even if you haven’t read Penny Reid’s original Winston Brothers series, you can still enjoy this book.

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