But Jackson Henry couldn’t be further from that stereotype.ĭark-haired, muscular, and handsome, Jackson left a large construction firm in Seattle to take care of his sick mother. When his mother offers him the business card of a local handyman, David pictures an overweight, balding man in his fifties. Unfortunately his new home comes with a laundry list of problems: electrical, plumbing, heating… things David knows nothing about. Copland’s an author to keep an eye out for.When interior designer David Snyder buys a beautiful century-old house in eastern Washington, he is reeling with heartbreak and looking for somewhere to put down roots. Although it is not stated explicitly, there does seem to be an opening for another book following this one. Her handling of dialogue is clever and believable, and she is careful with detail, both social and physical. The best story will be ruined by bad writing, but her prose is a pleasure to read. We see motivation and personality behind the people, and thus we can appreciate the complicated underpinnings of human behavior.Ĭopland is a good writer, and I cannot overemphasize how important that is. Although there are some folks who act stereotypically, we learn more than the surface.

What I particularly like about the way Copland handles her varied players is the nuance she gives them. It is our relationships with others that shape us as we grow, and both David and Jackson embody that truth. Both David’s and Jackson’s families are important, too.

This is a book where the main characters’ friends are important – crucial – to the story. As the house begins to take shape, David begins to understand just how much of himself he had sacrificed up until now. As it turns out, however, Jackson is completely different from David’s ex in every other way. Jackson turns out to be the same sort of very beautiful man that David’s former partner was. In desperation, he turns to the son of one of his mother’s garden club friends, Jackson Henry, to help save the situation. Having walked out of a five-year relationship with good reason, he impulsively buys himself a craftsman-style bungalow near his mother’s house, only to find that it is riddled with problems he didn’t see at first. David Snyder is a rising star in a corporate decorating firm. In David, Renewed, Diana Copland has delivered a classic, well-crafted romance in which not only the main characters are appealing, but the supporting crew are wonderful as well.

David, Renewed by Diana Copland