GBA reviews: Romance
One Last Dance, by Mardo Williams, is a delightfully different tale of life after 80, which earned a well-deserved place in the winning circle. With very authentic characters, and very real problems of aging, plus a pleasing humor and gentle kindness, this is one's highly recommended, to be enjoyed with a rich, elegant 4-star mug of coffee.
Written in Stone, by Viviane Brentanos, opens like a Hollywood romantic comedy but follows a much more complex plot in its second half with betrayals on personal and world-wide scales, prejudice, presumption and more. You'll need a 4-star complex coffee to go with this one.
Glass Angels, by Karen Wiesner, is the fourth in her Family Heirlooms Series, but stands alone with no problem. The young woman working in a rape crisis center is herself a victim, still trying to work out how to move on, and where Christian forgiveness fits in with Christian betrayal. A well-balance tale, this is one to savor with a 3-star well-balanced coffee.
And finally, Rae's Revenge and Redemption by LaVerne Iverson, tells the curious tale of a woman who takes matters into her own hands, and maybe even takes them a little far, when she learns of her husband's betrayal. Again there are themes of forgiveness and healing, this time with reader's notes and study questions at the back--a good book for a church group with 2-star easy-drinking coffee to be shared with the words.
The last novel I read during the awards was a memoir called I will fly again, by Lili Duaphin, and, while it's not a romance, I'm including it here because of the connection with forgiveness, healing and spirituality in those last two entries. The memoir opens with a hauntingly evocative childhood scene, set in Haiti, then moves into detailed accounts of Tilou trying to school herself, surviving despite the betrayals of all the adults in her life. Read this one with a 5-star bold, dark, intense coffee.
And that, I think, is the last of my GBA reviews. Thank you Dan Poynter for a really enjoyable experience, and thank you authors for the chance to read so many good books.
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