Review: A Sweet, Old Fashioned Love Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 17, 2013
Eye of the Beholder by Jackie Weger was originally published back in the 1980's. This book has been reissued in e book format and is self published.I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.Set in the rural south, Phoebe and her younger siblings are out on their own, looking for a place to stay, when a minor fender bender puts Phoebe in debt to Gage Morgan.He insist Phoebe pay him for the damage done to his truck, even though she is a very young woman out on the road with two younger children and obviously has no money or means to obtain any. Gage keeps Phoebe's bumper with the tags in his truck and won't return it until she pays him.So, being proud and resourceful , Phoebe moves right in with Gage. She discovers that Gage is a widower and has a daughter. His house and yard are a mess, so Phoebe starts cooking and cleaning and taking care of Gage's daughter. But, life is hard on Phoebe because as each day passes, the more attracted she is to Gage, and meaner he is to her.Gage's marriage was not a good one and he doesn't trust women, especially when it comes to money. Phoebe and Gage trade insults, argue and before either of them has a chance to think about it too hard, they are in love.But, can Gage learn to trust Phoebe?This book as I stated in the beginning was originally published in the 80's. If you keep that in mind you will be able to put some of the vernacular in context. Phoebe is obviously uneducated and poor with little opportunity to advance herself. She has old fashioned values and I do mean old fashioned. She thinks the way to win Gage over is by keeping the kids taken care of, cleaning the house, and cooking good meals.She isn't opposed to working outside the home and does hard labor to earn money. But, she has a terrible vocabulary and talks like she just crawled out of a cave.For the contemporary reader today, this book will probably appear dated. If you give the book a chance though, you will see that it is a charming old fashioned romance. Yes, the rural locations and obvious backwards living is silly, since today most people, even in the most extreme rural areas have internet access and cell phones. Things simply aren't done this way anymore. But, for me this made story more charming, since it reminds us of a time when life was simpler in some ways, sort of like a Mayberry kind of feeling. There were no college educations, and the thought didn't even enter the minds of many people at one time. But, if you strip all the dated material away and focus on the story, you will see that love is ageless and timeless. There were some really funny moments in the story and of course there was a rather unconventional HEA.There is some sexual content, but it's mostly a sweet love story with children making the situations funnier and showing the difference that a strong man and woman could make in their lives.Overall this is a B.