I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
My Review
This contemporary romance is written so that each chapter goes between the present age and 1973-4. The story is about the high school romance of Rosalee and George. The summer before her senior year, Rosalee is pursued by a college boy named George. Rosalee is a small town girl from an old-fashioned family, whereas George goes to campus parties. He smokes cigarettes (has tried weed), drinks, and is a player.
George and Rosalee kiss a lot, but she doesn’t let him go any farther with her. Much time is spent with him trying to get her to give in to him. Her naivety is obvious and she continues the relationship even though they aren’t on the same page.
The book starts out very slow but is more interesting when the reader can see the past vs the present. Rosalee is now past when her husband Tommy dies of cancer. She begins to realize how lonely she has become. She was Tommy’s caretaker for a long time and didn’t realize how accustomed she became to feeling alone. When she starts to want to do things with her friends again, her perfectionistic daughter is uncomfortable.
Rosalee begins to start enjoying visiting with her neighbors and eating out with her fellow librarians after work. She experiences many of the emotions people have when they grieve. She has self-doubt at first, but then seems to feel very comfortable with enjoying life again.
One night when she goes out with friends, she runs into George. They are both shocked to see each other, because they haven’t seen each other since their terrible break-up. I won’t tell you exactly what happened, because it gives away too much of the rest of the book.
The book covers how the author views generational relationships and how different people deal with lifelong love and other issues. Although there was some mention of church, there was some mild cursing, and it wasn’t a Christian book.