Author: R. R. (Page 1 of 3)

I love to read and write.

When you need sweet, light, and fun, try this

July 15, 2023 / R. R. / 0 Comments

Listen to Your Heart

Fern Michaels (Kensington)

[star rating = “3.5”]

A legendary author

Fern Michaels is a legendary author and her story is one of many amazing accomplishments. I am glad I read one of her books and I would definitely read another.

But …

That said, this is a very light-weight story. It’s entertaining and fun, but it lacks the type of “reach into your heart and grab you” type of writing that I was looking for. This definitely isn’t Nicholas Sparks, so if you’re looking for something at that level, keep looking. But it’s a fun, light read and worth a rainy day read, if you know what I mean.

It’s the story of twin sisters, still grieving over the death of their parents in a car accidents. One sister (Kitty) has adjusted, is engaged, is the great cook in the family business, and seems to be successful.

The other sister (Josie) is struggling until along comes a wealthy suitor (Paul) and the two fall in love. There are some minor near misses where they almost fail to connect but the plot is relatively thin and there’s a little too much coincidence, unrealistic behaviors, and easy results.

Spoilers

The wealthy suitor happens to the be the son of one of Josie’s clients. He’s somewhat estranged from his mother (Marie) because she became emotionally disengaged from him due to the death of her other two children. You don’t get a great sense of how this plays out and there are too many unanswered questions. Is it just grief? Is she afraid to engage with him because she may lose him? Why isn’t it more likely that she would increase in her attachment to him as her last surviving child?

In any case, Paul locates and rescues his long lost niece and her child, who lost connection with Marie after the death of Marie’s daughter (Paul’s sister).

Summary

It’s a little trite and it’s rather contrived but it’s got the happy ever after ending and some romantic buzz. The lack of moral depth bothered me and there wasn’t enough romantic tension. But if you want light and fluffy, this will give you a few hours of light-hearted entertainment.

The Last Le Carré: Make time to read it

July 12, 2023 / R. R. / 0 Comments

Silverview

John Le Carré (Viking)

There will never be another Le Carre

No one can write like Le Carré – I am convinced of this. Sadly, he passed away in 2020. At the time of his death, Silverview was finished but unpublished. Fortunately, his son brought it to publication. If you’re a Le Carré fan, don’t miss it!

Is this book in the league of some of his classics like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Russia House? Honestly, it’s hard to compare anything those books, which are true classics. My answer is “no, it’s not as awesome as those.” But it’s still great, it’s classic Le Carré. In a strange way, the book has an air of finality about it, and I can’t help but wonder if Le Carré somehow knew this would be his last book. If you’re a Le Carré fan, I highly recommend it.

What’s it about?

The book opens with a young woman delivering a letter on behalf of her dying mother, Deborah Avon, whom we ultimately learn is a former high profile spy. What’s in the letter? That’s the key. She’s delivering the letter to Stewart Proctor of MI6, who becomes an integral player in the story.

Living in the same town as the dying spy, is the young Julian Lawnsley who has left a high-flying finance career in London in order to open a bookstore. He is befriended by a well-educated gentleman who becomes his confidant in building and growing the bookstore. That man, Edward, is non other than the husband of Deborah, the dying spy.

What we learn later is that Edward himself also had a distinguished spy past that began before he married Deborah. And we come to discover that this career was resurrected by MI6 when the former Yugoslavia descended into war, and Edward’s past skills became extremely valuable. We learn all this as Stewart Proctor talks extensively with two retired spies.

Disillusionment

Le Carré slowing pulls back the curtain for us to see that Edward, committed to peace in Bosnia, becomes progressively disillusioned with the work being done in Bosnia, which is comes to see as failing to protect innocent Bosnian lives. The final straw is the execution by the Serbs of two members of a family to which he has become particularly attached. They were not Bosnians, but they were executed because they had provided medical support to Bosnian Muslims. Only the wife, Salma, survived.

Providing a frame to this disillusionment, one of the retired spies sharing the story with Procter says “we didn’t do too much to alter the course of human history, did we?”

The spoiler stuff

So it turns out that Edward crossed sides after what he saw in Bosnia. He’s been spying on his wife, Deborah, ever since. Of course, he’s spying on Britain, and passing the information to Salma, with whom he’s in love. Why? Because Edward believes he’s chasing true world peace and he’s come to believe that the British and their American allies really aren’t legitimately committed to the same peace to which he’s committed.

America, Trump, and the future of the United States

July 8, 2023 / R. R. / 0 Comments

One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General

William P. Barr (HarperCollins)

A fascinating and important read

In my opinion, everyone should read this book. It’s not just about the Trump Administration; Barr carefully highlights some of the most vital contemporary issues that are central to the future success and prosperity of the United States. Even if you don’t usually read political books, absolutely read this one.

What’s it about?

If you want to understand the Trump phenomenon, you absolutely have to read this book. The book is written by Bill Barr, for whom I already had a high regard. Barr served as attorney general two times: once under President George H.W. Bush, then under President Donald Trump.

The earlier commentary on the Bush Administration is interesting but it was the Trump material that was fascinating. Barr works methodically through a number of critical issues and developments, from the Mueller report through to the January 6 debacle. Everything Barr says leads me to the belief that Trump accomplished some great things, completely lacked discipline, and engaged in self-destructive behavior.

Mueller report

Like everyone, I wondered whether Trump could adjust to life as a president in contrast to the outside rebel persona he had built. I admit that I found it encouraging that he didn’t follow through on the “Lock her up” promises of his campaign. Ultimately, that seemed a very presidential decision to me. Interestingly, Barr also brings out this point, noting Trump’s comments that: “Even if she were guilty, he said, for the election winner to seek prosecution of the loser would make the country look like a ‘banana republic.‘”

Regrettably, Trump’s many opponents took a different view, and this has no doubt caused enormous damage to the American political system. I found Barr’s comments on the Mueller work to be informative because he highlights that Mueller pursued “an almost two-year investigation based on an esoteric, untenable obstruction theory. Mueller never seems to have paused to consider the sheer injustice of it all.” In essence, Trump was subjected to false accusations and a media frenzy that severely impeded the ability of his administration to function. This is not the type of behavior that one expects in the world’s leading democracy.

Decision-making

The book sheds great light on the way in which the president functioned. Although he often had great ideas, it was concerning, but not surprising, to read that he “tended to shop around for legal advice until he found someone who told him what he wanted to hear.” Throughout the book there is a common theme: to his detriment, Trump listened to Trump, and frequently ignored the experts around him whose advice would have prevented many of the self-inflicted wounds he incurred.

People

I found it really interesting to read Barr’s insights on Trump’s views on his supporters. Barr makes clear that Trump was genuinely committed to the American workers whom he believed had been ignored by the political elites. Ironically, as Barr notes, this commitment to prioritizing his base likely caused him to lose the 2020 election because he failed to engage in the necessary efforts to win back the moderate voters.

Conversely, it’s quite shocking to see how Trump treated his own team. Any book on good leadership will tell you the importance of building a team. Trump seems to have taken the approach that his team was there to serve him and that they were all expendable. One of Barr’s comments is particularly damning. He states that “People are worthwhile to Trump only as a means to his ends. When they don’t helm him get what he wants, they are useless.” My observations on the way Trump treated his loyal VP Mike Pence lead me to believe Barr’s assertion.

Religious freedom

One of the most powerful chapters of the book is Barr’s discussion of the importance of religious freedom. He notes the attack on religion that has been carried out by the progressive movement. Perhaps most compelling is his argument that the progressive movement, having removed religion, has sought to impose its own non-religious belief system, which is a form of religion in itself. His comments here are both insightful and warrant greater consideration both by political and legal leaders. In fact, this may be the most important comment he makes in the entire book:

“The objective is no longer secularization by subtraction. Now we see a mounting effort to affirmatively indoctrinate children with the secular progressive belief system – a new official secular ideology. … But secular values are not religiously neutral ones. On the contrary, today’s progressive secular ideology is premised on ideas about the nature of man, the universe, man’s duties, and the purpose of life that are a substitute for, and subversive of, a religious outlooks, especially the traditional Judeo-Christian worldview.”

China

Another crucial chapter is the one that focuses on the rise of China. In this regard, Barr notes the major but often understated threat that China presents to the US. Notably, Barr points out that it will take bipartisan commitment to resolve this issue. He highlights that Americans are going to have to work together or watch China become the dominant power in the world. I think this is a vital point and one that our current political leadership seems unable and unwilling to address.

Big Tech and the media

Barr makes great comments on the role of Big Tech, particularly the way in which our system supported their rise to “hegemonic power.” It is this power, he notes, that they now employ to censor political views with which they disagree. In this regard, I believe Barr has highlighted one of the most crucial issues of our day. Until we have a more balanced press again, we are mere steps away from becoming another political system in which there is only one acceptable view to which all citizens must adhere.

Barr’s subsequent chapters on the COVID pandemic, and the role of race in police shootings, serve as examples of the biased media reporting that now characterizes America. In particular, Barr points out the media hypocrisy in fueling the narrative that police had unfairly shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI. In actuality, he notes, Blake had a knife and was the subject of a felony warrant for sexual assault. His wife had called the police on him because Blake was attempting to steal her car and had the three children in the car. Blake had been tasered, he had overpowered police, and was attempting to get into the car and drive away – as Barr notes, the police were in the impossible position of having to stop him. Nonetheless, the media wanted to sell clicks by creating an alternate narrative. It’s hard to read this and not feel a deep distrust of our media, which seems to have sold out all ethics for the sake of immediate profit.

Final thoughts

Barr concludes the book with the election loss and its aftermath. Most notably, Barr asserts that Trump was his own worst enemy with his pettiness, egotism, unwillingness to listen and adjust, and the fact that his behavior repelled moderate voters. I am convinced that Barr is absolutely right.

Despite Trump’s many personal failures, I agree with Barr’s assessment that Trump was unfairly treated by the media and political elites who collectively undermined his presidency. Accordingly, I will close this review with Barr’s comments on one of Trump’s major accomplishments:

“Trump exposed the media and the cultural elites as the outright partisans they have long been – mere extensions of the Democratic Party.”

Love spy fiction? Read this

July 7, 2023 / R. R. / 0 Comments

Eye of the Needle

Ken Follett (Harper)

What’s it about?

The book is fictional but it’s a spy novel set in WWII and is based on the Allied effort that was dubbed “Operation Fortitude.” The operation was designed to mislead the Nazis into believing that the Allied forces would invade France from the Pas de Calais, rather than Normandy.

Until I read this book, I was unaware of this operation but it was really quite creative and the efforts the Allies went to in order to create the deception was amazingly extensive.

The book follows the efforts to capture Die Nadel (“The Needle”), who has discovered and photographed the Allied deception, which involved decoy tanks and barracks that simulated a major troop buildup. From the air, and through false wireless transmissions, the Nazis could be deceived. On the ground, it would need an individual to penetrate the restricted areas and verify that the troop buildup was a deception. Die Nadel is that individual and the Allied victory depends on stopping him from sharing what he knows with his Nazi masters.

Why is it worth reading?

The book is high-energy and gripping. It’s got that page-turning quality that draws you in and keeps you reading. The characters are well developed and intriguing, but it’s the action that keeps the reader coming back for more.

The conclusion

[Spoiler alerts]

Die Nadel is a professional but he is an evil individual. The book pulls at the reader’s emotions, especially as Die Nadal deceives a beautiful young woman trapped in a loveless marriage, who becomes an unwitting supporter. But in a moment of horror, she discovers the truth and becomes instrumental in Die Nadel’s downfall, and his failure to deliver the vital information to his Nazi masters.

Reflections

This was my first Ken Follett book. I definitely enjoyed this book so I’ll be looking for more of Follett’s books going forward!

Secrets, lies and betrayal: Who betrayed Anne Frank?

July 9, 2022 / R. R. / 0 Comments

The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation

Rosemary Sullivan (HarperCollins)

This is an outstanding non-fiction mystery story. Most people know the basics of the Anne Frank story. Anne and her family were Jews living in Amsterdam when the Nazis conquered the Netherlands. They went into hiding in the annex behind her father’s business premises. They hid there for a long two years and thirty days, during which time Anne kept a diary. On August 4, 1944, the Nazis raided the annex in response to a tip that there were Jews hiding there. Anne and her family were deported to Auschwitz, where her mother perished. Anne and her sister died in Bergen-Belsen. Only her father, Otto, survived. In a fascinating twist of fate, the book reveals that two days before the liberation of the Auscwitz camp, Otto “had been in a lineup awaiting execution when Russian soldiers had approached, sending the SS firing squad running for cover.”

What we don’t know

The Nazis were skilled in tracking down Jews in hiding. Two of their favorite techniques were to offer a bounty to those who reported Jews (Kopgeld), and to bargain with those who had been captured to report on their fellows Jews in hiding. Tragically, betrayal was commonplace, even among the Jews themselves.

What no one knows is who tipped off the Nazis that there eight Jews hiding in the annex.

The book recounts the work of the team of investigators, led by retired FBI undercover agent, Vince Pankoke. For six years this team crawled over historical documents, searched through archives, interviewed survivors, and put together their best guess on who betrayed the Frank family. The story is a fascinating read as the author takes us through the examination of multiple leads, culminating with their final decision.

So who did it? (Spoiler Alert)

The team identifies the betrayer as Arnold van den Bergh, one of only seven Dutch-Jewish notaries in the Netherlands. The book explains that the notary role was very different to the role of a notary in the US. This role was highly prestigious and notaries were present at all manner of events, from marriages to business creation to property transactions. Van den Bergh has lost his position as a notary because of his Jewish heritage and the investigators believed that he traded away a list of addresses where Jews were in hiding in order to save his own life, and that of his wife and three daughters. Tragically, the address of the annex was one of those on the list.

So did he really do it? The only people who really know the answer to this question have all died. However, the book presents some compelling evidence in support of this conclusion.

Three things I learned

First, the investigators concluded that Otto ultimately knew who had betrayed them. He had been tipped off by an anonymous note that pointed out van den Bergh. However, Otto consistently refused to identify the betrayer, and expressed that he did not want the betrayers family to suffer for what had been done. This is indeed a noble gesture.

Second, the use of Jews who turned traitor was quite shocking to me. The book recounts multiple V-men and women – Jews who had been identified but to save themselves, went undercover to help sniff out other Jews in hiding. One of the most notorious — — was executed in Amers

Third, the division among the Dutch citizens was more pronounced than I realized. There were many who assisted the Nazis, either actively or by merely looking the other way, or even enriched themselves openly at the expense of the Jews who lived among them. But then there was the resistance movement and the Dutch citizens who became “hiders”. These were the people who risked their own lives to frustrate the Nazi machine and save the lives of thousands of Jews who depended on them. Related to this, the book brings through the sense of dependency that Otto felt. In a short space of time he went from being a prosperous and successful businessmen, to someone whose life depended on the goodwill of his former employees and friends.

Concluding thoughts

My first instinct at the thought of van den Bergh betraying his fellow Jews was one of disgust. How could he do it? But Otto’s willingness to forgive and the books concluding comment on this is quite compelling. The author notes that:

Like Otto Frank, his goal was simple: to save his family. That he succeeded while Otto failed is a terrible fact of history.

While I can see this point, I remain unconvinced of the moral equivalency of Otto Frank and Arnold van den Bergh. It’s true that Otto did everything he could do survive and to protect his family — but it didn’t come at the cost of the lives of other Jews. In contrast, van den Bergh sold out countless other Jews to save his own life and his family. Ultimately, he collaborated with the Nazis for personal gain and, in that regard, he was a traitor rather than a hero.

Wake up! The urgent need to fight identity politics madness

March 27, 2022 / R. R. / 0 Comments

The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity

Douglas Murray (Bloomsbury Continuum: London, UK)

Listen up

When a gay man writes a book explaining how “woke” culture is destroying society, it’s time to listen. We have a desperate societal problem and Douglas Murray sums it up nicely. Society has a new ideology – identity politics – and it’s about pushing us apart, not pulling us together. It’s about virtue signaling that leads to the problems being overstated and it’s about destroying (not just silencing) contrary opinions.

Everyone in our society needs to read this book … and listen to the advice

Ideology

Murray explores four areas (or perhaps movements) – gay, women, race and trans. One of the core points he makes is that in every case, these movements started with a legitimate cause: basically, that all people deserve to be treated fairly. He notes, however, that in each case, there has been a tendency to overcorrect. In this respect, he makes a pertinent comment:

“What this has done in fact is merely tell some groups in society that they are of less value than other groups: that men are not as smart as women, that white people are more to be disparaged than black people, and that heterosexuality is really just a bit dull and embarrassing.”

He makes a great point. This overcorrection simply reverses the discrimination; and this discrimination is equally abhorrent as the original.

What defines us?

I also liked how Murray made the point that people are more complex than simply their gender, race or sexual orientation. And yet this movement focuses entirely on splitting us apart on the basis of these qualities. Why not instead look to the things that unite us and define our common humanity?

Cancel culture

Murray makes a great point here where he notes that people are routinely cancelled for things that they said years ago that may have been the prevailing logic of that time! For example, he notes that some people are vilified as being “homophobic” because they opposed gay marriage years ago, even though that was the majority view at the time, and a perspective shared by no less than President Obama!

Further, he highlights the risk that every one of us takes each time we express an opinion today because we cannot be certain how well that opinion will be viewed in future decades!

What a crazy situation we find ourselves in.

Change matters & it’s urgent

I strongly agree with Murray’s comment that:

“What has become clear in the last year, however, is the urgency of coming up with solutions to the ulta-divisiveness that identity politics has created in our societies.”

He’s absolutely right. We need to radically rethink how we’re approaching each other in western society. We cannot continue to divide into tribes and view other tribes as the enemy. Our political leaders are going to have to step up and say “enough” — the political gamesmanship of identity politics may help win elections but it is destroying our society.

Beam me up Scottie: No Romantic Quality Here

January 1, 2022 / R. R. / 0 Comments

Montana Welcome

Melinda Curtis (Harlequin Heartwarming, Toronto)

Disclosure: You can borrow books from your local library at no charge. You can buy books from Amazon or elsewhere. Sometimes I buy books to keep; many times I borrow books from the library. In my blog, I provide a link to books on Amazon. If you buy after clicking through to Amazon via one of these links, I receive a commission

Let me just say …

I wanted to like this book. I like the Heartwarming concept and I love to read romance. I liked that it was a clean romance and I liked some of the writing. But this book didn’t do it for me. Sorry. In all honesty I think it barely reached the lowest rung of romantic mediocrity.

What’s wrong: The Story

The story here is completely unbelievable. On the day of the wedding the groom (Danny) gets cold feet, the bride (Lily) gets cold feet, the bride learns that her father (Rudy) is really her step-father and her biological grandfather (Elias Blackwell, known as “Big E”) shows up wanting to take her to Montana to meet the family.

When you think things can’t get less believable, it turns out that the runaway bride will travel from her home (San Diego) to Montana in an old RV chaperoned by a handsome cowboy (Conner). But they’ll first detour through Las Vegas to pick up Big E’s step-granddaughter (who is getting married) and her maid of honor.

Of course, Lily’s financee Danny, and her step-father, Rudy, chase her up to Montana to sort things out. Unsurprisingly, Lily ends up falling in love with Conner.

What’s wrong: The Characters

It’s well known that the characters are at the heart of a romance. Here, the characters are two dimensional and unbelievable. Sorry, I really wanted to like them but they just didn’t “come alive” for me. Another problem is that there are too many characters.

Concluding thoughts

I read this novel because Harlequin listed it as their “sample” for aspiring authors in the Heartwarming line. As a result, I expected it to be really good. It wasn’t. I was let down and I really don’t know how Harlequin even decided to publish this one.

Loss, Pain, Healing & Hope: It’s a Riveting but Raw Romance

January 1, 2022 / R. R. / 0 Comments

Just Last Night

Mhari McFarlane (HarperCollins Publishers, NY)

Well written, great characters!

This English romance is touching and really well written. The pacing is great and the characters – the most important part of a romance – are richly developed. Told in the first person, the story revolves around four close friends – Eve (narrator), Suzie, Ed, and Justin – who are interconnected in multiple ways. We see their weaknesses, their strengths, and their growth through time. At the heart of the story is Eve’s decade’s long crush on Ed, who becomes engaged to someone else (a narcissistic drama queen), and that’s when things get tricky …

[Spoiler alert] The night of the engagement, Suzie dies suddenly as a result of an accident, and the other friends find themselves drawn even closer together in their agony. The pain of loss is palpable. But then the narrator, Eve, discovers that Suzie previously slept with Ed, despite knowing how Eve felt about Ed. Eve is crushed – why would her friend betray her like that?

Enter Suzie’s estranged brother – Finlay – whom everyone knows as public enemy number one. He’s arrogant, self-centered, and “poison” – or so they’ve all been led to believe. But things aren’t always what they seem and there’s a dark family secret. Eve takes a chance in getting to know Finlay, and through him she comes to see how Ed has been leading her on all these years to satisfy his own ego.

And then things unravel fast. Ed’s relationship crumbles and the marriage is called off, as he declares his undying love for Eve. But it’s too late. Eve knows he does truly love her and she’s not willing to be second. It’s Finlay who understands her – and she understands him. The love that’s grown up between them is real and nothing – not even living on two different continents – is going to stop them.

What I loved

The characters, the unexpected story line developments, the mystery, the tension.

What I didn’t love

The language isn’t great — I don’t think it helps the novel and I don’t know why the author included it. There are multiple uses of the “f” word, the “s” word, but most disappointingly one single use of the “c” word. I felt that damaged an otherwise outstanding novel.

The Shocking Secrets of Sonya the Soviet Spy

December 27, 2021 / R. R. / 0 Comments

Agent Sonya: The Spy Next Door

Ben Macintyre (Penguin Random House, NY)

What’s it about?

It’s the fascinating true story of Ursula Kaczynski — code name Sonya — who spied for the Soviet Union before, during and after World War II. Despite being Jewish, she became an avowed communist, going on to spy for the Soviets in China, Poland, Switzerland, and the UK.

What was her biggest impact?

Without doubt, her most devastating contribution to the Cold War was the work she did in running Klaus Fuchs, one of the expert western scientists building the atomic bomb. The material Fuchs provided enabled the Soviets to catch up and build their own atomic weaponry.

A fascinating true spy story

Was she ever caught?

No. The book brings to light the shocking incompetence of the spy catchers in MI5. They consistently missed meaningful clues and failed to capitalize on the opportunities that came their way. Ultimately, after Klaus Fuchs was caught and Ursula knew that her cover was almost certainly blown, she fled to East Germany where she made her new home for the remainder of her life. She died in her eighties in 2000, an acclaimed Soviet hero.

What was the most shocking part of the book?

One might assume that it was the many affairs and lovers she had but that wasn’t it. It was the fact that she continued to believe in communism long after it had become clear to her that it was a failed philosophy. In East Germany she saw first hand the devastating consequences of the communist system in action and yet she still believed.

Most powerful quote?

“She spent her adult life fighting for something she believed to be right, and died knowing that much of it had been wrong” (Chapter 24).

Was it worth reading?

Absolutely. Ben Macintyre is a brilliant writer. The book is incredibly well researched and is a fascinating read. There are parts that get a little dry to read but they are nonetheless important parts of the overall story. Ultimately, it’s an amazing account of the critical role that Sonya played in Cold War history and the way in which the great minds of the spy world overlooked her, largely because she was a woman and a mother.

Good characters … but the conflict lost me

July 25, 2021 / R. R. / 0 Comments

A Place to Belong

RaeAnne Thayne (Harlequin Selects)

Romance and the characters

I love reading romance, I’ve read a lot and I can be a little critical. Obviously, romance is all about the characters and I liked the characters in this book a lot.

The male lead, Quinn, has come from a tragic background but he’s made good. He’s successful, handsome, wealthy … and single and unable to commit because of his tragic family background. Quinn has come back to small town Idaho to be with his dying former foster mother, Jo.

The female lead, Tess, is beautiful, a former high school cheerleader, popular, and tragically widowed. And she’s one of the hospice nurses assigned to working with Jo.

Tess and Quinn, former high school peers, cross paths again. He remembers how cruel she had been to him at high school, even lying to create major problems for him. Of course, she did this because she loved him but she was immature and self-centered … and she’s changed. He doesn’t know that – yet.

The story unfolds nicely and Tess and Quinn fall in love. It’s sweet, it’s touching. But in romance we all know that something is going to drive them apart. In this case, the hint was that Quinn would need to return home to Seattle, to keep running his prosperous business.

Romance and the conflict

This was where the book lost me. I was waiting for a big powerful conflict. Instead, right after a passionate love-making scene, Tess turns on Quinn when he says he wishes he didn’t have to leave. Why? Because she doesn’t believe he is ever going to want to marry (because of his tragic family background. Spoiler alert: his father murdered his mother and then committed suicide).

He wants to try the long-distance relationship. She says it’s over and she’s not going to take a chance to see if he comes around to marriage. At this point I’m asking “does she really expect him to propose after just a few weeks? Isn’t it just a little too early to be questioning why he hasn’t committed to a long-run relationship?”

So this bothered me. She’s in love like never before and she’s loved him ever since high school. People in love like that don’t just throw it away because the distance thing might not work and he might never want to marry. They do crazy things; they take chances. In actual fact, Quinn has shared things about his past with her that he’s rarely shared with anyone before and he’s professed the depth of his feelings for Tess. There’s every reason to believe that this is the relationship that will change him, will free him from his past and enable him to take a chance on marriage. Everything points to this and yet she says, no, I’m not willing to take a chance.

I just couldn’t buy that. I don’t regret reading the book — I liked the characters and I liked that they ended up happily ever after (as good romances are supposed to do!). But I didn’t feel the pain of the forced conflict and I didn’t feel crushed when the story came to an end. Sorry.

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