Review: For a Rainy Afternoon by RJ Scott

Author: RJ Scott

Pages/Word Count: 66 Pages

At a Glance: An enjoyably short, sweet romance with a little mystery thrown in.

Reviewed By: Angel

Blurb: Robbie MacIntyre manages a small post office in the old Station House on the outskirts of sleepy Barton Hartshourn northwest of London. He’s stunned when the owner, Maggie, a close friend, bequeaths him not only the post office, but also Station House.

The rest of her estate is left to an American writer, Jason Young, and when he moves to the village, Robbie is thrown by the attraction he has for the man who has more of a claim on the Station House than he does.

Then there is a box that holds several rare first editions and a cookbook. Only when the secrets of the ingredients in a particular recipe are finally revealed does everything begin to make sense, and a love cut short seventy years earlier is finally discovered.

Review: For a Rainy Afternoon is one short story in an anthology of five in which the rest of the collection share the common theme of a mysterious cookbook. I have not read the other stories in this book, but this one stands alone, and I definitely want to read the others. I’ve read and liked RJ Scott’s work before, so it was no surprise to me that this novella was just as enjoyable for me as her other works.

Though Jason and Robbie are our main characters, the minor character of Maggie shines throughout the story. Maggie is the grandmotherly matchmaker from beyond the grave, and I loved hearing about her story while Robbie and Jason lived out theirs. I’d like to know more about Jason, as this was told from Robbie’s POV, and see more on Maggie as well, but was satisfied with the story’s HFN ending.

The setting in a tiny rural English town was lovely for this tale. It was a soft sort of romance, slow building and without a lot of on onscreen sex. The mystery, which I won’t spoil here for you, was interesting and sad at the same time. More bittersweet than anything, I think, but I really enjoyed the entire story overall.