Meg Jordan wants nothing more than to start a school for local children, so that they don’t have to be sent away for their education as she was. The apple of her father’s eye, she has been given a building and promised windows from Jordan Glassworks . . . as soon as they get other orders finished. That is surely why she is breathless with excitement after meeting Colin, the new glassblower from Scotland. It surely isn’t a personal interest–her father is very strict about not socializing with the employees.

Colin has never seen a bonnier lass than Miss Meg Jordan, but he is warned from the moment he steps foot in the glassworks that he ought not get his hopes up. Which is fine, because he did not venture to America for romance. He came to find a better life to extend to his mother and siblings–the least he can do after abandoning the family, which he is certain led to the boating accident that ended his father’s life. Had he been there . . . but the Lord has forgiven him, and now he has a fresh start. A fresh chance. He will prove himself quickly to be a master glassblower while working on the goblets Mr. Jordan requests for his daughter’s engagement . . . if only he could prove to his heart that said engagement made Meg off-limits. But she seems unwilling, at the least, to become betrothed to her neighbor. And why would the doting Mr. Jordan force the issue? Something is not right.

The Glassblower is a truly excellent book on so many levels. From Heartsong Presents, it’s a short read and moves quickly, but Laurie Alice is an expert at making those few pages feel complete and full, carrying you through a complex and tender story with elegance and grace. The love story is truly blissful-sigh-inducing, and there is just enough tension to make the stakes high and unyielding. I really appreciated the balance of those devices, though. So often tension feels false or over-inflated to me, based on nonsense, but that is far from the case in this novel. The author found the perfect way to offset each romantic stride forward with outside complications, and to answer each moment of antagonism with a new development in the relationship between hero and heroine.

It’s no wonder The Glassblower is an editor’s pick this year for Heartsong Presents! This is a must-read that you’ll breeze through and walk away from feeling better than you did when you sat down with it. You’ll fall in love with the characters and watch them come to a deeper understanding of their faiths through the pages. Don’t miss this one!

Right now it’s only available from the publisher and through the subscription program, but keep your eyes peeled! It’ll be on Amazon etc. in the next few months.

(I received this book as a complementary reviewer copy.)