Review: A tale of recovery and strength
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 27, 2014
The very thought of youTwo women meet when their cars collide in a nor’easter and their lives are changed forever.Alex, high powered lawyer with no heart. She lost her son and ex-husband in a car crash and has created a wall around herself so dense she has completely shut off not only from those who love her, but from all human feeling. In her work she is brutally cold and clinical. In her life she is detached and distant.The woman she literally crashes into has a daughter Carly. Unlike Alex, Reese has tried to stay positive and create a warm and loving world as she struggles to raise her daughter alone.After Reese is taken to hospital Alex takes Carly home for the night and a tiny crack appears in her cold exterior. But can Alex stop running from her fears or will she chose to stay in her icy world.-------------This is a great story, and I really enjoyed the read. Alex and Reese are strong characters, well written and rounded. Their emotions and fears are well worked and their gradual engagement well thought through.From the start we see Alex’s heart respond to Carly. The chink in her armor is exposed and she cannot help but respond to the child’s trust and love. But when it comes to letting somebody into her heart Alex fights and runs at every opportunity.Reese understands her attraction for Alex from the start. She too is fearful having been loved and left before. But she is the positive influence, the hopeful and giving partner who will hold on and stay strong while she waits for Alex to decide.Having read ‘Till there was you’ as my first S Anne Gardner and found it too intense and melodramatic I was delighted to find this novel far more balanced and realistic. There are still lots of twists and turns, battles and dramas, but without the over dramatic feel of a Victorian bodice ripper.You do wonder where these jackets come from though...