cover image At Home in Persimmon Hollow

At Home in Persimmon Hollow

Gerri Bauer. Franciscan, $14.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-61636-863-0

Scriptural references nearly overwhelm this sweet historical romance set in the Florida countryside of 1886 in Bauer’s debut novel. Agnes Foster has fled an orphanage in the big city of New York, the only home she’s ever known, for the small town of Persimmon Hollow, Fla., where she’s to take over the position of teacher. The town, however, is nothing like how it was advertised. Seth Taylor, the town’s curmudgeonly hermit, is the first person she meets—and the sparks fly, despite the very warm welcome she receives from her patrons and the rest of the town. Can Agnes settle in to her new home before the past comes back to haunt the entire town? Awkward dialogue does little justice to the vivid detail and the otherwise memorable supporting cast. Though the smalltown life fires the imagination, the contrived plot and a difficult protagonist make it impossible to fall into the story. (July)