Twilight (No, not the vampire story)

Tags

adult fiction, book review, Cal, Cal Morrison, Christian romance, danger, dealing with the tragedies of life, firefighters, firefighting, fires, forgiveness, honesty, Kristen Heitzmann, Laurie, Laurie Prelane, Love, no vampires, post tramatic stress disorder, PTSD, real life drama, redemption, romance, romantic suspense, Twilight, women's fiction

Book Review:  Twilight, by Kristen Heitzmann:

Laurie Prelane returns to her hometown with her two small children, hoping to escape a dangerous situation and a husband who has lost his way.  There she is forced to confront personal issues that she never resolved as a child and teenager, including her old sweetheart, Cal.  Danger follows her, and soon she and her children are again at risk.
Cal Morrison used to be the best firefighter in town until a tragedy left him unable to do his job.  Now he dresses in a clown suit and does public education on fire safety.  When Laurie comes back, he wonders if they can rekindle the old flame and make a new life together.  But both Laurie and Cal are so scarred from their pasts that they hide their true thoughts and feelings.  It will take a series of crises to get them to open up to each other and begin the road towards healing and real love.

I read this book years ago, and I was very frustrated by Cal and Laurie.  Why couldn’t they just tell each other what was really going on inside?  Cal, I thought, had an excuse, with his PTSD, but Laurie?  She needed someone to shake her.  She didn’t even tell Cal that she was still married, and it was obvious that he was falling in love with her.  Come on, girl, I wanted to say, what is wrong with you?  Can’t you recognize a good thing when you see it?  But I read Twilight again in February as I was on my way to my aunt’s funeral, and it was as if it was a different book.  What made the difference?  Life happened to me.  People get hurt, and they hide away who they really are, hoping to shield themselves from being wounded again.  I now understood Laurie, and why she tried so hard to dig into her little foxhole and cover her head.  I saw her mother, the stiff, unemotional Marjorie, who hadn’t dared to express anything honestly for decades, and I understood her too.
Tragedies happen.  People make mistakes.  The consequences don’t go away by themselves.  Like a stone thrown into a pond, the ripples spread out and effect everything and everyone in their lives.  But as this story shows so dramatically, there is redemption and forgiveness.  If we will dare to be honest, if we can dare to love, we can find our way, and grow and learn from the experiences we go through.  Kristen Heitzmann does an amazing job of showing the real people beneath the masks they wear.  This book moved me deeply, and has made me determined to be not only a better writer, but a better person as well.

 

 

 

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Painting Kisses

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art, artist, beauty in nature, cafe, canvas, chick lit, clean romance, Contemporary Romance, creative process, diner, family, genius, healing, honesty, inspiration, Love, marriage, Melanie Jacobson, motivation, NA, nature, painting, Painting Kisses, paints, pitfalls of wealth and fame, romance, waitressing, wealth, women's fiction, YA

Book Review – Painting Kisses, by Melanie Jacobson

After her divorce, famous artist Lia Carswell throws away her brushes, paints, and canvases, and she flees from New York to the mountains of Utah. There she invents a simpler life by changing her name, waitressing in a small diner, and helping to care for her sweet little niece. Her heart is broken, and she swears off men and painting forever.
But when her sister can’t afford to get her daughter into a good preschool, Lia decides to do one more painting for a mysterious, fabulously rich buyer. As she begins to paint, something happens that she didn’t expect: she reawakens to the beauty around her and the need to paint, and her frozen heart begins to thaw. To her dismay, two men vie for her attention: the handsome, smooth-talking Aidan (who she assumes is a construction worker), who orders everything on the breakfast menu just for a chance to talk to her, and her shy neighbor, Griff, who plays guitar and is gentle and sweet to her niece. Will she dare to risk her heart again?
I have enjoyed all of Melanie Jacobson’s books, but I have to say I loved this one the best. Full of her usual witty dialogue, fabulous non-verbal communication, fully developed characters, and a gorgeous setting, this story was more serious than her earlier works, with a beautifully unfolding romance between people with wounds and issues that need resolving before they can truly love again. I was even more impressed with how Melanie shows how deeply an artist needs to create, and the creative process involved. As an artist, I could relate completely. I especially loved the scene where Aiden is with Lia on the mountain. By showing her a different way to see the scenery, he helps her to break through and be able to access the genius within her. I’ve now read this sweet romance three times. Thank you, Melanie.

Whispers of Hope

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adoption, angst, Chile, Christian, conscience, death, Dennie, families, fiction, forgiveness, grief, healing, honesty, LDS, Love, lying, Marcie Anne Jenson, peer pressure, teenagers, Thes, truth, Whispers of Hope, YA fiction

Book Review — Whispers of Hope, by Marcie Anne Jenson
Dennie and Thes, orphans from Chile, are adopted by an American LDS couple, and for many years all seems well. But Thes is haunted by his painful past, and when he dies mysteriously, his family is devastated. Dennie’s conscience is burning a hole in her that makes it increasingly difficult to live with the many lies she and her friends have told to keep the truth from coming out. Something has to give, because Dennie can’t stand herself anymore. This was a touching story. I cried for Dennie’s pain, and I cheered as she slowly began to reach out and trust someone enough to tell the truth about her brother, and find healing at last.

The Kiss of a Stranger

Tags

abuse, book review, Catherine Thorndale, clean romance, communication, Crispin, England, gentleman, honesty, humor, kindness, kissing, lady, Lord Cavratt, marriage, Regency Romance, romance, Sarah M Eden, true love

Crispin, Lord Cavratt doesn’t believe in true love. It seems that every young woman and her mother pursuing him is after his money and title, and he has become jaded. While he walks in the garden with one of those grasping females, she goads him, saying that he probably doesn’t even know how to kiss. Crispin turns to a woman that he assumes to be a servant (because of her shabby attire), apologizes, and then thoroughly kisses her. To his dismay she turns out to be a lady of birth, the niece of an angry gentleman who claims that Crispin has compromised her and demands that he marry her at once. So Crispin is forced to marry Catherine Thorndale. He assures her that he will get the marriage annulled as soon as possible.  Meanwhile, she will live in his house and be tutored by his sister on how to be refined and survive Society. Catherine is only too glad to escape the clutches of her cruel uncle and wishes that she could stay with Crispin forever. After all, he is kind and gentle. Besides, an annulment would leave her reputation in tatters. As her beauty, courage, and sense of humor is slowly revealed, Crispin begins to fall in love with Catherine, but he doesn’t recognize what he is feeling as the real thing. He assumes Catherine doesn’t love him.  Because of her uncle’s abuse, Catherine cannot trust Crispin enough to reveal her true feelings for him, and so the two of them are trapped behind their inability to talk honestly with each other. Catherine’s uncle, who is after her inheritance, keeps showing up, demanding that she leave with him. His threats become increasingly violent, and it takes Catherine being in mortal danger before the two will declare their love for each other.
I really enjoyed this Regency Romance by Sarah M. Eden.  In fact, I read it twice.  So if it’s raining where you live (as it is here), grab a blanket, curl up in front of the fire, and get ready for a sweet romance that leaves you sighing at the end.