Review: Starting Over
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 17, 2014
A mother with her two children, her ex mother-in-law, and recently widowed mother, moves to Alabama after being basically deserted by her husband. There she meets a handsome man named Tucker who lives in a nearby barn converted into living quarters. Obviously this has the makings of a romantic story. There is more. The house comes with it's very own ghost.This ghost is named Lottie, a woman who died at the end of the Civil War. Her greatest desire is to somehow regain her physical body. She is an interesting character with very definite opinions on a wide range of subjects. She views the new household as chaotic and most of the inhabitants as ill mannered. Not to mention the lack of attention to the cleanliness of the house. She is kind at heart- she just comes from a time when everything was much more...structured.There are a few things about the story that stretch credibility or are irritating. Justine rents a home in Alabama for a year without ever seeing a picture of it. This from a woman who makes her living as a computer programmer. There are several instances where she is called Justin. There are several times when the change of scenes is so abrupt that it takes a minute to figure out where you are. There is also an obvious, and unfortunate, lack of proofreading.Tucker is the real saving grace. A generous, strong, funny, fundamentally kind man who falls hard for Justine. A good thing because entirely too much of the story is devoted to her constant fear of becoming involved with a man like her ex husband. It goes on and on. And on. I am not without sympathy but after the nth time it becomes very irritating.This is not a bad book. It certainly has the bones to become a very good book, but between Justine's constant "fears" and the under utilization of Lottie it didn't make it.