LDS Women's Book Review

I'll never forget the first time I met Donald. Hillary and I had just started interviewing people at the April 2010 LDStorymakers Conference when a gentleman caught my attention and introduced himself. I was ecstatic to meet Don because I had never before met one of the male listeners to the LDS Women's Book Review podcast.

As I interviewed him and learned more about his book scheduled to be released in January 2011, I was surprised to learn that he was writing what would technically be considered a romance.

A romance, written by a man? Needless to say, I was very curious.

I can honestly tell you I was not disappointed. One of the things I love about book reviewing is the wide variety of books I get to read, even within the same genre. In the last two days I have reviewed three romances, and despite falling into the same genre, not one of these books felt like the others.

First of all, I love the cover. The green color with the contrast of a white and blue title is eye-catching, and I like aviation-themed accents. The title is perfect - our man, Jordan, hits his fair share of figurative and literal bumpy landings.

As I read, I found myself encouraging Jordan to take a stand and follow his dreams. I was afforded a peek at what it must be like for a college guy doing his best to keep everyone happy while struggling to figure out who he is and what he really wants. There were a few little twists in the story that I didn't expect. I wasn't sure how the story would turn out, or even how I wanted it to turn out, until the very end. I enjoyed watching Jordan's character grow from his experiences that ranged from stupid mistakes to a tragic accident.

The writing is clean and held my attention. I've never been to Hawaii, and now I'm curious about some of the places the characters visit, as well as the food. I think they should have added the recipes for pani popo and malasadas at the end of the book, though I'll pass on the opihi.

I was delighted to find some pictures over on Don's website that add an entirely new level to Jordan's story as well as offering a peek into the life of the author. Go check it out, but first, watch this fun trailer for Bumpy Landings, put together by Don: