Saturday, August 18, 2012

Review - Touching Stars

Title: Touching Stars
Author: Emilie Richards
Publisher: AudioGO; Unabridged edition (March 15, 2011)
Format: Hardcover; Pgs 528
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Library
Series: Shenandoah Album #4

Why is it that I remember the prior books in this series to have a religious angle to them? I kept waiting for that slant to appear and if it had, I completely missed it.

Gayle Fortman has been raising her sons alone for the last twelve or so years since her charming husband Eric chose his career as a broadcast journalist over being a father and husband. Now returned home after a near death experience in Afghanistan, Eric is trying to rebuild his life and a relationship with his boys.

When Gayle divorced Eric, she and her sons built a life in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, they run the Daughter of the Stars bed and breakfast inn, and with the help of Travis Allen, a neighbor down the road, the little family has built a very good life together.

Now that Eric has moved into the inn during his recovery, the family is a bit off balance. Being described as the most married divorced woman anyone has known, Gayle must revisit her feeling for Eric. Is Gayle ready to come to terms with her emotions and decide once and for all, what is best for her sons?

The boys have grown up without a father and they too must decide what bond they wish to have with a man that has been absent most of their lives. Not without squabbles and door slamming, this family finds their answers and goes into the direction that will suit each of them.

Played against a backdrop of a local historical play, Touching Stars entwines the past and present leaving the reader mesmerized with two different but completely related stories that easily entertains and fascinates.

As you are reading, do not assume that you know the outcome of either storyline. Ms Richards weaves a tale that encompasses both the people and history of the Shenandoah Valley. Characters from previous books appear and hopefully, characters from this book will reappear in the next.

Very much in the same tenor as Robin Carr, you will find Emilie Richards to be a gifted writer and dreamer.

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