March 27, 2023
Dailey’s emotionally rich seventh New Americana romance (after Hope Creek) sees Kelly Jenkins, 34, arriving in small town Blue Moon Haven, Ala., to assume managership of the local drive-in movie theater with two small children in tow. Kelly’s been looking after Todd, 10, and Daisy, 6, since their mother, Kelly’s best friend, died from breast cancer, and hopes a fresh start will do them all some good. Unfortunately, she finds the drive-in in disrepair and discovers that the promised “homey living quarters” attached to the job are really an old mobile home. Worse, while chopping down tree limbs blocking the projection screen, Kelly is confronted by an angry neighbor, Seth Morgan, who claims that the tree is part of his orchard. Despite this rough beginning, Kelly and Seth, who is grieving the death of his own daughter years before, become friends after he agrees to let her use his VCR so she can learn more about cinema history. As Kelly, Seth, Todd, and Daisy work together to restore the drive-in, Kelly becomes part of the welcoming community of Blue Haven while helping Seth heal from his sorrow. Their slow-building and strictly PG-13 romance proves heartwarming, and the cute kids only enhance proceedings. This is one to savor.