Review: A gentle, compelling romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 5, 2013
This is the first book I have read by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a romance, and although it doesn't take too long to realise who is going to get together with whom, the predictability that is inseparable from romances ends there. This novel has a Welsh and equestrian setting.Laura, a talented interior designer, loves her boyfriend, Simon, (who has an ex-wife and two children). James is still in love with his wife, who has been dead for two years. Apart from being ruggedly handsome, (of course), he is also a skilled horse whisperer. When Laura becomes pregnant, Simon is none too happy--he's been there, done that. The situation rocks the stability of their relationship. A commission to renovate cottages, owned by James and his sister, leads to James's and Laura's paths to cross...What I loved about this story was...well, just about everything: the Welsh setting, the horses (I'm an animal lover), but most particularly, I loved the characters. The cast of this story was extremely well put together and each character conceived either colourfully, sympathetically, thoughtfully, but always credibly: Maggie is Laura's hapless, patient, tolerant married sister with a middle-aged husband and three very, very different children. Jess is the middle one of these: brilliantly portrayed as the petulant, parents-are-oh-so-gross teenager. Then there was Carla, the sex-hungry man-eater; Alice, the bitter, revengeful ex-wife; Liz, James's domineering sister, who must surely have been a headmistress in her former life! But Laura and James were conceived with skill: each with their own demons to deal with, they were never pathetic or irritating but utterly likeable, and they have you on their side from start to finish.A lovely, gentle romance packed with emotion and twists and turns, leaving you wondering how they cannot possibly end in a cul-de-sac. Not so much an-edge-of-your-seat romance, but one that keeps you reading with your hand on your heart.