How to
write a review on a beloved author, whose final book was bad, just awful; I felt no connection to this book what’s so
ever and I was hard pressed to even hear the author’s voice in this books. I
have long been a fan of Beverly Barton’s…there are few of her books that I
wouldn’t suggest to someone but this book lacked in so many ways. It felt like
it had been finished just to be finished.
What I
did like was the overall idea of the tale…..I also liked Mary Beth and Parr, I
liked the sudden spark in the early pages of the book and I liked that each had
stories to be told but I feel those stories were not told or not completely
fleshed out so to speak. They met at
Mary Beth’s engagement party to of all people Parr’s younger brother. Mary Beth
had just discovered Bobby Joe’s indiscretion with a former flame and is heart
broken when she meets Parr. Parr is the kind of guy who does right by his
family no matter the costs to him. When
the two meet it is a case of instant attraction for both. Yet when push comes to shove she forgives
Bobby Joe.
Bobby
Joe throughout the book continues to walk a thin line of almost cheating, and Mary
Beth continues to forgive him. There is however several times when Parr and
Mary Beth almost give into their attractions yet something keeps stopping them;
namely Bobby Joe. The entire book
becomes a do they or do they not push pull thing between Parr and Mary Beth.
When Mary Beth finally realizes she is with the wrong brother the fizzle in my
opinion has left building. That instant spark that drew me into the book was
long gone and it simply fizzled out.
The book had potential, but the problem stems
in that it lacked in story, it lacked in character connections, and it just did
not feel like a romance. The heat that was there in the early stages of the
book simply disappeared and the ending felt rushed. Nor did it feel like a
Beverly Barton book......I know she passed a couple of years ago (on my
birthday at that) and I have to assume someone else finished this book because
it's simply not her voice. If you
want a quick tame read then this might be the book for you, but if you’re
looking for more…….I would actually skip over it.
3 ½ Stars.
