Review: ...the story was very romantic and has a happy ending!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2014
This is Ethan, Ana and Theo’s story.Ana is from the Dominican Republic; she moved to the US on a valid visa with her mother and older siblings. Her father was to follow shortly thereafter. Due to tragic and unforeseen circumstances, Ana loses her mother and the children are left to fend for themselves and their valid visa runs out and is not renewed. Ana finds work tutoring Spanish to high school students privately and adults in the mornings and evenings to earn money. She lives with her brother, sister and her three children. They are poor and all live in a two-bedroom apartment, trying their best not to be discovered by the authorities, or else all the adults will be deported back to their country of origin. Ana has lived like this for twenty years.Ethan is a widower raising his son, Theo. Trish, Theo’s mum died when he was around seven years old, and so he clearly misses the love of his mother. Ethan is a pediatrician and works long hours in a busy practice. They live in a nice area with a lovely home and neither Ethan or Theo wants for anything. Their only hardship is that their relationship has broken down because Ethan does not know how to reach out to his son, and his son feels neglected by him.Ethan comes to Ana’s rescue when her superior tries to blackmail her after he becomes aware or surmises the true status (undocumented) of her stay in the US. Ethan and Ana’s journey to love commences when Ethan hears a commotion and goes to investigate. This then leads to Ana tutoring Theo who becomes instrumental in bringing Ethan and Ana together.The story explores the nightmarish situation of what it is like to be an undocumented person in the US; all the fears and hardships that need to be dealt with. I enjoyed the story, it was beautifully told. However, I felt the pace of the story could have been a lot quicker and I felt disappointed that although the couple’s feelings for each other were very strong they were not able to be more honest and open about their feelings and insecurities regarding the relationship and Ana’s true legal status. Regardless of that, the story was very romantic and has a happy ending! Definitely worth a read!-Reviewed by Marcia