Old Fashioned ~ Review

Old Fashioned
Novelization by Rene Gutteridge
Screenplay by Rik Swartzwelder

Chivalry 

          makes a 

                           comeback

Clay Walsh has made a vow to be a changed man.  He no longer wants to be the man that he was, even if it means isolating himself away.  He wants to treat women with the respect they deserve.  Clay's ideals are the source of ridicule in the town in which he lives.  His theories on love and romance are odd and outdated, but he has been living by them for nine years.  He has yet to meet the woman who understands his views.

But when Amber Hewson arrives in town his theories are about to be tested.  Something about Amber draws him and terrifies him at the same time.  Amber senses something about Clay is different though she's not sure what it is exactly.  But when her apartment needs a repair she learns quickly what about Clay is different - he won't do the needed repair and be alone with her in the apartment.  His "rules" confuse and intrigue her, but how do you get to know another person when you don't know the rules?

This is a book that I highly recommend - the values Clay lives by are in fact ones that I was taught from a young age and men and women who live by these standards are hard to find today.  Pressure to conform to the lax morals of today come from all sides and it is hard to stand for what one believes as evidenced by the ridicule Clay faces (even from friends).

I think my favorite line comes from Betty - "You know, marriage is kind of like a tea bag. You don't know how strong it really is till you get it in some boiling water.  And the water don't boil till you're over the heat, and the heat don't come till you say, 'I do.'"

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher Tyndale through TBCN/BookFun in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:

Former frat boy Clay Walsh has given up his reckless lifestyle and settled down to run an antique shop in a small Midwestern college town. Determined to put his partying ways behind him, Clay has become notorious for his lofty and outdated theories on love and romance. But when Amber Hewson, a free-spirited woman with a gypsy soul, rents the apartment above his shop, Clay can’t help being attracted to her spontaneous and passionate embrace of life. 

New to the area, Amber finds herself surprisingly drawn to Clay and his noble ideas, but her own fears and deep wounds are difficult to overcome. Can they move beyond their differences and their pasts to attempt an “old-fashioned” courtship?