A Long Way From Eden
Jana RichardsContemporary romance
Available from Uncial Press
ISBN: 9781601740571
July 2008
| Meg Evans works a diner and leads a tidy, un-sensational life with her 20-year old son, Tom. It wasn’t always so, and if she’s sometimes sad and wistful for a man to love, she’s accepts that a lack of romance is the safest way to live these days. She made mistakes in her past and must protect her son. Meg is determined Tom will never know the horrors of their past. Zane Martin is a successful, outrageously handsome businessman, and Erin his pretty 18-year old daughter. He’s a single father and raised her alone since she was a baby. Except for Zane’s loving mother, there’s been no one in their lives for a long time. When Meg’s son and Zane’s daughter create a new life together without benefit of a wedding, or even knowing each other well, all bets are off. Parents, children, and extended family must learn how to give up, give in, and heal from past hurts.
This is skillfully written and strong on characterization. Motivations are emotionally-driven. Any parent with a deep love for children will identify with the feelings of each character. In the lives of Meg and Zane, adult children see the truth of complicated relationships within relationships—current and past. This book is recommended for young adults who can handle well-presented sexual situations that teach a lesson. There was strong sexual and situational tension, enough to keep me reading to learn the secrets Meg and Zane held close, as well as secrets kept from them. I rooted for them emotionally, romantically, and sexually. The entire plot moves along at a clip with those secrets woven in bit-by-bit so the reader knows only enough with each page to ensure that she turns the following page. Dialogue is real and touching. My only slight criticism would be toward the crucial points where answers to complicated issues of intertwined family ties were occasionally too easily “fixed.” Still, that fact in no way marred the topnotch quality of the story told.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Linda J. Alexander |
