Review: Love' em, hate 'em
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 27, 2011
Carol Rose has created a solid story, taking me along to places in the mind and heart where each of her characters traveled, enabling me to experience their emotions. I could feel Delanie's love, at first sight, for Mitchell as though I had seen him walking across the room myself. I felt something emanating from Mitchell which appealed to me - making me want to learn more about him.I must admit to feeling like an intruder during the bedroom scenes, though. I felt those moments belonged to the characters and I shouldn't have been a witness. Even so, the writing was superb and it wasn't as though I continuously had to invade the characters' privacy; there was a story line involved and I followed it carefully.I was deliriously happy sometimes and ready to pull someone's hair at other times, namely Mitchell's. He was abusive and downright rude and overbearing. Even so, as I got to understand the inner workings of his mind, I knew I couldn't be the judge and jury to execute him, even though his words and actions saddened me on numerous occasions.I empathized with Delanie, when nothing she said or did was good enough for Mitchell, especially in the early parts of the book. I felt her heartache and sense of betrayal when he accused her of things which were untrue.In life, as in fiction, some women are sexually active with multiple partners and, sadly, are not sure who the father of their child is. However, imagine being a single woman expecting a child, having no memory of taking a man into your arms, much less than your bed. It's quite a different set of circumstances but that's exactly what happens to Delanie in Forgotten Father.It was interesting that I knew Mitchell was the father of Delanie's baby, but she didn't. Thanks to emotional trauma she experienced - brought on by Mitchell the morning after they first met and became sexually involved - Delanie had an accident and, ultimately, forgot all about him, including their shared night together.However, a sudden turn of events would bring them face to face again - with Mitchell's memory fully intact whereas Delanie treated him like the stranger he had become. Yes, he was a scheming individual and always presumed the worst of Delanie but, ultimately, I'd like to think he learned his lesson. Being able to forgive Mitchell was certainly an amazing quality and, in doing so, Delanie set herself free from what could have been a miserable existence.