I know I keep saying that I just read this great book, but this one really does top the list. The Time Between, by Karen White, is incredibly beautiful and deeply moving. With the lush scenery of Edisto Island and the gradual reveal of the layers of each character, I was right there, hurting and hoping with them. Karen White is an amazing writer.
Eleanor Murray carries so much guilt, so many wounds from the past, and she doesn’t know how to let it go. After all, it’s her fault that her sister is paralyzed, and how could she have feelings for her sister’s husband? She must be a horrible person. After her father dies, she closes the cover on her piano and throws away her chance to go to Julliard. Instead she devotes herself to caring for her invalid sister and whiny mother, and all of them endure a stagnant, unhappy existence. But when her boss, the handsome Finn Beaufain, asks her to go back to her childhood island home and care for his elderly aunt, a door opens in her shuttered life. She meets her match in the crotchety, pain-and-guilt-ridden Aunt Helena. As the two women slowly get to know each other, their secrets are revealed and their friendship grows. Eleanor finds her feelings for Finn growing as she tentatively reaches out into a real relationship. In Finn’s fragile, beautiful little daughter, she finds a wise, loving soul who teaches her that you have to let go of the past, stop fearing the future, and live each day to the fullest in the time between.
Carol Nicolas 