THEN, AGAIN by Karen Stivali is a quick and convincing drama highlighting the tension between work and play in regards to relationships. Ms Stivali again delivers an excellent illustration of modern day relationships. I give it 4 stars and recommend it to anyone who had an unrequited love interest in high school.
In THEN, AGAIN, Manhattan-based travel photographer Kay Turner returns home early from an assignment due to the death of her grandmother, who raised her. Instead of returning home to comforting boyfriend Todd, Kay arrives home to find another woman in her kitchen and in Todd's clothes. Kay gathers her things and moves to her grandmother's beach house on the Jersey shore.
Almost immediately, Kay runs into an old unrequited love interest, James Margolis, who is seriously good-looking, successful in his businesses, and available. They hit it off, and soon their summer romance turns into something more serious. Add some drama from their exes along with work conflicts, and the reader gets some great reading.
I really enjoyed THEN, AGAIN, as I have other works from Karen Stivali. It is not surprising that Ms. Stivali enjoys richly character-driven books and movies; it shows in the flawless character development in her own novels. There is never a question mark over her characters' motives, thoughts or actions; it all makes perfect sense. The characters also have real issues, to which readers can easily relate. Here, the issue of life priorities takes center stage. Today, women often have to make the difficult decision whether to pursue their careers or romantic relationships. THEN, AGAIN is an excellent example of that kind of tension, as well as the difficulties couples face in communicating what they want and need in their relationships.
On the technical side of the novel, the pacing of the book was excellent, and the editing was also well done – no typos or grammatical errors to distract or confuse the reader. My only issue with this novel is the number of sex scenes. The physical aspect of Kay and James' relationship is detailed in numerous sex scenes, giving this book a heat level rating of 3, appropriate for those 18 years of age and over. I could have done with fewer detailed scenes. With the exception of two sex scenes, they become unnecessary to move the plot along. For readers who enjoy guilty pleasures, though, THEN, AGAIN delivers.
If you are a fan of real-life dramas that lack contrived issues or dialogue, this book is for you, and I highly recommend THEN, AGAIN for your summer reading list.
*Review originally written for The Romance Reviews at
http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=9771
