THE GIFT OF LOVE by Eris Field illustrates a heartwarming story about the love given to orphans by family, strangers, and Father Baker. I give it 3 stars.
In the novel, Dr. Andrew Young is a psychiatrist who divides his time between his paying clients and his pro bono work in a nearby town in which his grandfather grew up. He's asked to fill in at the last minute for a friend at a conference in Puerto Rico. Random events transpire which leave Andrew to care for his orphaned half-nephew, whom he has never met, alone at the conference.
Laurel Christiansen, who was adopted, is a nurse working several jobs to keep a roof over her and her stepsister's heads. Unfortunately, her efforts are not enough to prevent the city from foreclosing. Laurel's stepsister is a hoarder, and the state of the house prevents Laurel from selling it. After much encouragement from her best friend, Laurel flies to attend an OCD conference in Puerto Rico, where random events put her directly in Andrew's path and keep her there. The weary travelers end up forming a bond which changes their lives for the better.
I enjoyed THE GIFT OF LOVE for the most part. The characters were sympathetic, and their difficulties distressing. While at times the events bringing them together may seem far-fetched or contrived, the end result is a mostly believable romance. The romance is clean and sweet, but moves a bit fast for me (hence the "mostly"). I won't give more details on this point because it would spoil the ending.
The plot moves at a comfortable pace, and aside for a few issues, the editing was fairly well-done. Overall, the book was uplifting and a testament to the kindness of the human spirit, showing us that we can all have the gift of love by choosing to give it to others.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=10780.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Closure by Angela Ford - 3 stars
CLOSURE by Angela Ford spins an interesting mystery about an FBI agent and ghosts from her past, but it felt rough, incomplete and contrived at times. I give it three stars for keeping me interested despite its various issues.
In CLOSURE, FBI Agent Jessica Resario is on the hunt of an online sexual predator, and unfortunately gets caught in the killer's crosshairs, barely escaping with her life. She's sent to her family's summer house as a "safe house", but it's the first time she's been there since her parents were killed on her first day of college.
While attempting to come to terms with her past, she stumbles over some information which may shed new light on her current quarry. The information was collected and kept secret by Jessica's father, also an FBI agent, and points to a person who stalked Jessica when she was in high school. Jessica must figure out who and where this man is before he takes from her another person she loves.
The beginning of this novel is great. Suspenseful and compelling, it keeps you glued to the page. The overall plot is intriguing and unfolds at a brisk pace. Unfortunately there were subplots that were never tied off or resolved, e.g., how does her friend's "I Crave You" tie into the overall plot? What is the connection?
The romance in the novel was minimal, appropriately so given that it is a workplace romance, where discretion and professionalism are crucial. There is enough of a foundation for the romance, but it develops from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. Granted, things can change quickly when reluctant characters make life-altering decisions, but here, it was just a little too fast to be believable.
On the technical side, the novel vacillates between heavy narration and lengthy character monologues. There is a big difference between someone telling you a story and someone telling you *about* a story. The heavy narration here often falls into the latter category, telling about what someone said even when quick dialogue would easily and more effectively convey the information. A good portion of the narration provided redundant information--details explained twice in similar fashion--and foundational information that was provided at the climax or resolution of the novel instead of in the beginning.
There were also many typographical errors, some which seemed like revision leftovers--words or phrases which should have been deleted upon revision. Oftentimes, the sentence structure, word choice, and paragraph arrangement felt disconnected from the rest of the novel, as if they were written and dropped onto the page without smoothing out the edges or inserting transitions.
Overall, the technical issues, rather than the substantive issues, were the major difficultly in enjoying the novel. If readers can get past those, then the intriguing plot can carry them through the end.
** Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=10690.
In CLOSURE, FBI Agent Jessica Resario is on the hunt of an online sexual predator, and unfortunately gets caught in the killer's crosshairs, barely escaping with her life. She's sent to her family's summer house as a "safe house", but it's the first time she's been there since her parents were killed on her first day of college.
While attempting to come to terms with her past, she stumbles over some information which may shed new light on her current quarry. The information was collected and kept secret by Jessica's father, also an FBI agent, and points to a person who stalked Jessica when she was in high school. Jessica must figure out who and where this man is before he takes from her another person she loves.
The beginning of this novel is great. Suspenseful and compelling, it keeps you glued to the page. The overall plot is intriguing and unfolds at a brisk pace. Unfortunately there were subplots that were never tied off or resolved, e.g., how does her friend's "I Crave You" tie into the overall plot? What is the connection?
The romance in the novel was minimal, appropriately so given that it is a workplace romance, where discretion and professionalism are crucial. There is enough of a foundation for the romance, but it develops from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. Granted, things can change quickly when reluctant characters make life-altering decisions, but here, it was just a little too fast to be believable.
On the technical side, the novel vacillates between heavy narration and lengthy character monologues. There is a big difference between someone telling you a story and someone telling you *about* a story. The heavy narration here often falls into the latter category, telling about what someone said even when quick dialogue would easily and more effectively convey the information. A good portion of the narration provided redundant information--details explained twice in similar fashion--and foundational information that was provided at the climax or resolution of the novel instead of in the beginning.
There were also many typographical errors, some which seemed like revision leftovers--words or phrases which should have been deleted upon revision. Oftentimes, the sentence structure, word choice, and paragraph arrangement felt disconnected from the rest of the novel, as if they were written and dropped onto the page without smoothing out the edges or inserting transitions.
Overall, the technical issues, rather than the substantive issues, were the major difficultly in enjoying the novel. If readers can get past those, then the intriguing plot can carry them through the end.
** Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=10690.
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