Review: Then, Again By Karen Stivali
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 30, 2013
My Take on this Journey:Then, Again, by Karen Stivali is a wonderful book.  This story starts with Kay, (Kimberly, Kimmy) Turner, coming home to her apartment from a photo shoot two weeks early, to find a woman in her apartment!  She is wearing Todd's, (her boyfriend of 3 years) shirt, cooking in Kay's kitchen, when Todd walks in behind her with a bottle of wine.  What a way to start a book!  Pow!!!  Poor Kay, is speechless.  She has just found out that her beloved maternal grandmother has passed away, and then walks into this den of inequity!!!  Kay is taken aback, but packs her suitcases, and walks out.  I was very proud of her for her strength and resolve from that moment on.Kay in a traveling photographer, fulfilling her life's dream, going all over the world doing what she does best.  Kay decides to go to her grandmother Maria's house, the house she grew up in, because she had a dead beat mother, Eleanor.  Once arriving, Kay contacts Rosalie and Trixie, her grandmother's lifetime friends, who are hysterically funny sisters.  She can still smell the fragrance that her grandmother wore, the scent of coffee and the ocean breeze in the air, the memories of her childhood with her grandmother, and her friends, and her grandmothers all encompassing love and affection.  Though Kay tries to contact her mother, she gets what she has always received from her, nothing!  Kay's mother is a heartless woman, with no time for her mother, even in death.  Kay has inherited the house, and everything in it.  Kay wraps herself in the comfort of her grandmother's crocheted blanket, and grabs the emergency staples, (oreos), and lays on the couch.  She decides to stay for the summer to reflect on her life, close down the house, pack her grandmother's things, and decide what she wants to do next.  She has to prepare for the memorial service for her grandmother.  While at the beach front house, she decides to go to the fish market, and runs into her childhood crush, the ever handsome, gorgeous, James Margolis.James was a boy from her childhood that she pined away for, and dreamed of walking out the door from his father's market someday, hand in hand.  Unfortunately, James was older at the time, and he had a girlfriend.  Now, years later, their paths cross again and, the girl he once knew has grown into a beautiful woman, and there is undeniable fireworks flying between these two characters.This book is set in dual narration.  Then, Again, was so fast paced that I read it through the night in one sitting.  I loved every detail about it.  From the setting on the beach, to the real life romance of these two sweet, kind characters.  There was no agenda, just pure giving, loving, sharing of wants and needs, and concerns for each partner.  Then, Again has it all!  I loved Ms. Stivali's prose.  I was completely enthralled in the love story of Kay and James.  James was sentimental, with many endearing qualities that any woman would dream of.  James is opening a restaurant of his own, and tries out his cuisine on Kay, and asks if she will share her grandmother's recipes with him.  She does, and that leads to seduction, from her grandmother's mouth watering recipes.  It will leave you reeling, and wanting his mouth watering scones.Then, Again will leave you feeling fulfilled, and happier than ever, in more ways than one.  There is nothing like that first crush, and then reuniting again in the future with that love.  Ms. Stivali does it best.  I went on this journey along with this wonderfully sweet couple.  There are obstacles they must endure, fun they must have together, real life chemistry to share, seductive cooking encounters, steamy romance, and not so good baby sitting chaos.  You will cry, laugh, sigh, swoon, and melt.  There aren't enough good things I can say about this "Feel Good Romance."  Kay must stop to smell the roses, and decide if love is enough for a lifetime, or her career is more important.  This is a must read book!What can I say?  Then Again, by Karen Stivali, is a once in a lifetime romance for the ages!  This is one of the most heart warming love stories I have read in a long time.  The innocence of the romance is built on love and trust.  I was captivated and spellbound by the wonderfully poetic prose.  Ms. Stivali, made me fall in love again in my lifetime, with James Margolis, and you will too!I give Then, Again a big 5 Longing, Loving, Swooning, Comfortable, Caring Stars!