In the novel, Fiona Delaporte has taken leave from her cruise ship employment to be with her wealthy brother-in-law, Christian Hartley, and her niece, Nicola Jane, after her sister succumbs to breast cancer. Fiona and Christian weather some crime and other health issues, and Fiona stays until her leave is over. The twist comes after Fiona returns to her ship, and as expected, there's a happy ending.
I did not enjoy this novel. In fact, I felt sorely cheated out of my personal time. (I acknowledge that my eternal optimism often keeps me chained to books drowning in their own dreadfulness.) Right off the bat, the reader is inundated with the tension between Fiona and Christian--tension which would be understandable if it were just two strangers being forced to cohabitate after the death of a mutual relation. There could be many possible underlying causes of that tension--one person wants to grieve alone, another person feels guilt for being absent from their loved one's life, one person wasn't supportive during their loved one's illness, another feels slighted by another person's response to the death of the loved one--but the tension here is entirely sexual. Each character ruminates over their romantic/sexual feelings for the other and also for the resulting guilt over those feelings. Neither demonstrates any depth of character via their ruminations. Rather, their obsessing merely demonstrates how shallow they are, as they both individually reminisce on their ONLY time spent together--one dance during Christian's wedding reception.
The characters' ruminations also causes the pace of the novel to remain in the sludge or molasses range. It was difficult to get past the first chapter, but again, my own idiosyncrasies forced me to persevere. There was no improvement in either the novel's pace or the plot's substance after the first chapter. Also, the romance in the novel is graphic, making the book suitable for adults. I give this novel two stars because it has potential to be revised and developed into a novel that is both serious and romantic.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews at
http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=11781
