Review: A tale of broken hearts, of intrigue and suspense.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2014
Alex Hart was a successful accountant in Ireland with strong family ties, a home she loved and a seemingly successful life. She gave up everything to move to America and be with the woman she had been dating online for two years. She risked everything for love.Cynthia has had her fingers burnt by online dating and has retreated into her own world. She has moved home to be with her Mother and become a recluse.Breanna's life is full of loss. A series of tragic accidents has left her bringing up her young niece and the economic downturn has trapped her in living on a ghost estate.All three women have been scared by losing things they love, whether by malicious intent or by accident. Each must try to live with the consequences of their heart-aches and they must all learn to trust in love again.-----------RJ Samuel's new novel is a tale that takes several complex and interlocking stories of love and explores how the women involved have coped with the loss of trust and the loss of innocence. It is a tale of romance, of broken hearts, of intrigue and suspense.Almost all of the women we meet could be playing emotional games, some knowingly, in order to manipulate others, some because their own hurt has caused them to behave in ways outside their normal character. It is an exploration of how much we will give up either because we think we have found love or to protect what we think is a love worth fighting for.A Place Somewhere is an extremely well-written novel, well edited and crafted - always a joyous find when one reads a new author, particularly somebody who is self published. The characters RJ portrays are well rounded and have an integrity that is sometimes challenged by their heart-ache and loss, but ultimately shows them for who they really are.While Alex, Breanna and Cynthia are the main focus of the story they are ably supported by an excellent cast on both sides of the Atlantic. I particularly enjoyed the sympathetic portrayal of Maggie, who has suffered from the ill-advised ambitions of her husband but who centers the small community in which she lives. Sasha, Sarah's niece, is also extremely well drawn and demonstrates a sensitive understanding and knowledge of how young children interact with those around them. She, more than anyone else, reacts with openness and love to those who have a good heart.Online dating is a new phenomena and over the coming years we will undoubtedly see more novels based around the trials and tribulations of relationships formed over the web. Ms Samuel's novel is an interesting exploration of how those relationships can go terribly wrong and how women searching for love can be used and manipulated by unscrupulous others, either for gain or simply for entertainment.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will certainly be adding RJ Samuel's other novels to my reading list for the future.