Once Upon A Heartache

The Joy and Sorrow of Unconditional Love

Fiction - Short Story/Novela
102 Pages
Reviewed on 04/13/2023
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

Once Upon A Heartache: Unconditional Love is Book 1 from The Virtues of Love Collection by Bethany Jones. It has been six years since Amelia Bennett, a missionary, left Montana after feuding with her father, Charles. Her concern for his health made her return from India, but Charles seems just as brooding and cranky as Amelia remembered him. She was extremely surprised to see the rundown state of the ranch, and even more surprised that her childhood friend Thomas now works for her father. Amelia attempts to mend the relationship between her aloof father and herself. Her fondness for the new horse he has bought is the opportunity for Amelia to test her skills in taming the animal, but she wonders if it can also work with her father within the short time that she has.

This is a touching story about a young woman with strong Christian beliefs and principles that have helped her to cope with her past over the years. Amelia is a mature, caring, quick-thinking person whose subtle ways to get closer to her father won my admiration. She also wishes she could get closer to Thomas but has her reasons for not doing so. Bethany Jones has written a short story with an intriguing conclusion that will leave readers speculating about the protagonist’s future. I have formed my conclusion. Once Upon A Heartache is the first book from Bethany Jones's new collection and it was a pleasant novella for me to read.