Review: An Enjoyable Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 12, 2013
Eve Paludan has once again given me an enjoyable read.  A different read.  I'm not a spring chicken, and for that reason I rarely read anything romantic.  Why read about hot young men I have no interest in?  They're pretty but dull, and an unbelievable fantasy.  This romantic protagonist is a man I'd enjoy meeting, and you wouldn't have to put a gun to my head if he wanted to waltz me up the stairs.  Sam is an older, but very appealing, man with a wounded past that makes it difficult for him to touch or be touched by others.  That is, until, a mysterious young woman with flaming red hair enters the picture.  Both of them are book lovers, collectors, and dealers.  Slowly, with infinite patience and tenderness, they come together as lovers.  Score one for the baby boomers!Would more authors please acknowledge that love and hot romance are not the exclusive domain of the young and beautiful?  You will?  Thank you.The pacing of this book is nicely handled, and the suspense starts at the beginning and carries through to the end.  You want blood and guts, get a different book.  In this book, the tension of the story between the Spring-Autumn lovers centers around something that isn't quite right, a question about the mysterious and beautiful young woman.  Circumstances are nicely handled to center the objective on finding Jessie -- who she is, where she came from, why is she scarred, and why she's hesitant to love and be loved.  The resolution is believable, and a very disappointing but true element of our modern world is exposed for what it is.  That's not fun and will tick off some readers.  If you don't believe such a thing is possible, read the newspaper.  It happens all the time - the unspeakable carried out by our most trusted leaders.I'd give this book all five stars, but I do have a passing acquaintance with Eve through a social network.  I know a lot of writers through that network, and if I think I'd be doing a prospective reader an injustice by reviewing a book, a review simply isn't written.  I've NOT written more reviews than I have written.  This book has some clinks and clunks along the way, but not as many as a Sandra Brown book I read on an airplane and wanted to open the door, in mid-flight, and toss.  This is a unique love story with flaws (hey, The Adventures Of Huckleberry is deeply flawed), but it's an enjoyable read for passing time.  It has a male love interest who interests me, a nice story, good tension, and a huge love of books, accompanied by a knowledge of those books.  I was both entertained and informed. Mission accomplished.