In Becca Kinzer’s debut rom-com novel,. Dear Henry, Love Edith, Edith Sherman is ready to make a new start. Her marriage was difficult and about to end when her husband became ill and passed away. She stayed with him til the end, and they reconciled. But the problems there and in her relationship with her parents has soured her on marrying again. She had given up her hopes and dreams of traveling the world, and now is the time to pick them up again. She plans to go to South Africa to help in a mission there as soon as her passport arrives.

In the meantime, she heard from a friend that a crisis nursery in the small town of Westshire, IL could use her nursing skills for the summer. She had planned to stay in the house of a friend of a friend, Kat, who would be away during that time. But Kat sent her a note that a pipe had burst in her house. However, her uncle Henry had an upstairs he wasn’t using and would be glad to have her stay there until the damage was repaired.

Henry actually wasn’t glad. But since he was recovering from a knee injury and couldn’t use the upstairs, he reluctantly agreed that what he assumed was an older widowed missionary lady could stay there.

Edith, on her part, assumed that the uncle of someone her age would be an older bachelor. She didn’t realize that Kat and her uncle were just a few years apart.

For several weeks, living in different parts of the house and working different times, Edith and Henry didn’t meet and left notes for each other. Each assuming the other was older, their notes became more friendly and confidential.

Meanwhile, Henry can’t help but notice a beautiful brown-eyed blond in town. They run into each other several times without getting each other’s names. Then Henry realizes this is the Edith living upstairs in his house.

Edith notices Henry, too, and it’s only a matter of time before they find each other out and admit their attraction. But Edith remains firm about not marrying. And besides, she’s leaving the country soon.

I don’t usually read romantic comedies, but I saw good reviews for this one. When it was on sale for the Kindle and then free for Audible, I decided to try it. There were a lot of funny and cute moments, and the overall story was sweet. I enjoyed a lot of the banter. The “comedy of errors”—misunderstandings or things going wrong that escalate— is not my favorite type of humor. Nothing wrong with it, I just find it tiresome and not funny. I preferred the more serious parts. Even though this was meant to be a funny story, there was a lot of depth to it.

Though this was a Christian novel, at first I didn’t see much Christian about it besides an occasional mention of church or prayer. But later on, as the two main characters wrestle with their various issues, they pray and seek God more earnestly.

Unfortunately, there was one reference I was dismayed to see in a Christian novel. It wasn’t obvious, though, so I think some might overlook it.

If you like romantic comedies, you might like this book.