After finishing reading another novel Jodi Thomas, I was reminded of how much I love her writing. I was pleased to find DINNER ON PRIMROSE HILL waiting to be read on my Kindle--lucky me. As always, I was immediately captivated by the new friends I was going to meet. Characters are Jodi Thomas’s forte--love, family, community, and trust are the building blocks for the relationships featured in her novels. All of Jodi Thomas's characters are richly real and flawed. But they seem to be unaware that there is something missing in their lives: love and belonging. They are smart, caring folks whose lives have been held ransom by circumstances and responsibilities. Now, in DINNER ON PRIMROSE HILL, Jodi Thomas is hell-bent on giving them life, and dare we hope, love.

As in all tales by Jodi Thomas, get ready to smile, laugh out loud, and sigh with wonder as the storyline unfolds page by page, chapter by chapter. Each chapter continues a story starring one of the three central couples. By the way, none of them consider themselves couples, just two people whose lives have been inexplicably connected by recent events. Pure charm.

Take Ketch Kincaid, for example. He's never settled down in any place--a child of the system, as he likes to say. He was left with a note telling anyone that found him that his name is Ketch Kincaid and that his parents weren’t born with roots. Ketch is now in Clifton Bend finishing up his graduate work after years afloat. And he meets Tuesday Raine. Guess what day of the week she was born? After spending time with Tuesday, Ketch realizes how alone he has been. Tuesday has been disrespected by many in their small community that had failed to see this lovely person with a painful past, left to fend for herself. 

DINNER ON PRIMROSE HILL has several characters who are learning how limited their lives have become. Their pasts have created blockades to searching for a more rewarding, fulfilling life. Jodi Thomas carefully describes these intelligent folks with respect. There is an innate sadness about their solitude even in a crowd. They seem to share the thought that they are almost invisible. But we learn so much about these terrific characters that we hope for something more for them. Jodi Thomas is the ultimate romantic. This author believes in love. On a humorous note two professors join forces to win a grant based on a research paper about what people find attractive. This project becomes a catalyst for some pretty terrific dialog.  

Book Summary