A friend sent me this book in a box of books. A different friends likes to read books "in season" (books set at Christmas around Christmastime etc.) so since it was approaching Valentine's Day when I was choosing a book from my TBR pile and saw the word Valentine, it was the one I picked up.

Both main characters were interesting. Zach: a former Army captain who was part of the reduction in force cuts who discovered glasswork in a class, loved it, found a way to apprentice while he was part of the military, and now is opening his own shop. Ginger: owner of a tea shop

I like tea, but there was very little about that in this book. Ginger buys tea and tea pots but she's mostly reselling what others have made. Other than some of her tea pots being from Sally, the former owner of the building, there doesn't seem to be much personal touch to Ginger's products.

I was much more intrigued with learning about glasswork. Obviously what's in this book in quite simplified. You probably couldn't go start making things yourself by just reading what's in this book. I've watched a docuseries/competition show about glasswork though so gaining a bit more knowledge about how the process works is interesting to me and this book accomplished that.

Unfortunately, the romance plot seems recycled. I feel like I've read it before--insert a different holiday (usually Christmas) and different character names and types of stores and ...

The same friend who likes to read books in season once commented that there needed to be a subgenre of romance dedicated to law enforcement being at least one of the main characters. If that's the case, perhaps there also needs to be a subgenre with military/former military being at least one of the main characters.

PTSD, survivor's guilt, and other issues soldiers' and veterans' have are subjects worthy about knowing--but I will have to leave it to others with more knowledge of the subjects to know how faithfully the portrayal is in this book. ( )

This story takes place in Maple Springs, Michigan. Ginger Carleton runs a local tea shop. She has organized a parade welcoming Zach Zelinsky home. He is a retired army captain and he is also her new landlord. He will be running a glassblowing business in the space next door to Ginger's tea shop. Ginger is also organizing a town campaign for business owners to decorate their windows for Valentines Day. Ginger wants to win the contest because of the statewide advertising that would help her failing business. As Ginger and Zach get to know each other they develop feelings for one another but they each have baggage that is holding them back from opening up their hearts completely. Zach is dealing with nightmares from his time serving in the army and Ginger is dealing with a failing business and a dysfunctional family situation that has made her feel like a failure. They will rely on their faith in God and their growing love for one another to start the process of healing.

I always enjoy the Love Inspired books as they are clean reads. I really liked the two conflicting personalities of Ginger and Zach. Ginger was very outgoing and cheerful while Zach was stubborn and kept things inside. They both had problems holding them back that will take time for them to get through which made both of them easy to relate to. The story flowed very smoothly and switched easily between the viewpoints of Ginger and Zach. It was a fairly quick read and I did like how it ended. I enjoyed learning about the glassblowing and the author did a great job describing everything which made me feel like I was there. The small town feel made the read even cozier. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I received a free digital version of this book from the publisher, Harlequin, via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. ( )