Rating: 3.5 Stars

Format: Paperback 

It wouldn’t take you too many clicks into Your Book Friend to realize I’m a huge Kerry Winfrey fan. Winfrey, like me, grew up in the great state everyone loves to disregard, Ohio. And her delightfully sweet rom coms take place in small Ohio towns, with plenty of references to all of the things I miss about home. 

Just Another Love Song is Kerry Winfrey’s latest adult rom com, which takes place in the small town of Baileyville. Protagonist Sandy McIntosh always dreamed of getting out, but life (and financial aid) got in the way. She stayed behind while high school sweetheart Hank Tilman went to college and became a country music sensation. 

Then, Hank comes back, and Sandy realizes that maybe she isn’t quite as over him as she thought she was. 

This story is told through Sandy’s point of view, alternating between the past and present. I was so glad to see Winfrey return to the single POV, my personal preference for romances. I’m a harder sell on second chance romance, but in this case, the reason for the breakup was one I could easily understand and forgive (no spoilers here). 

Just Another Love Song is a cute rom com with a small town setting that will inevitably draw Gilmore Girls comparisons. Baileyville is full of quirky characters like a guy called “Hotpants Ed,” and has an Ohio-themed inn (run by Sandy’s parents, of course). I’d describe this one as pretty cozy and low stakes. Sandy and Hank have a sweet past and a sweet reunion, and I enjoyed their love story. 

I can also never fault a story where the protagonist has a lovable dog and nothing bad or stressful happens to said dog at all, ever. 

For me, something was missing with this one, and it’s probably just that second chance romances and country music singing, flannel-wearing single dad protagonists named Hank are not my jam. I enjoyed this book and all the Ohio-reference goodnes, but I can’t say it’s going to be a great favorite like some of Winfrey’s others. 

If you enjoy a cozy small town romance and/or the second-chance romance trope, this is definitely the book for you. 

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