Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Almost the big day...

Hey everyone,

I really should be practicing my presentation, but my mind is numbed with stress... so I'll try to relax it with this review (I would start to read, but then, I'll never practice and going to sleep is unfortunately, not an option either)... So this is the book I read yesterday night and I really enjoyed it :D and it made me cry... I think that I needed to cry.


The Return by Dinah McCall (Sharon Sala): 4.25/5

I can't do a coherent synopsis, so here are the main facts that I would put in my summary if I write one:

- the Blairs and Joslins families have hated each other for years. Not ordinary hatred, a hatred so profound that they find ways for the other family members to have "accident"
- Fancy Joslin and Turner Blair fell in love when they were kids. When Fancy got pregnant, they married in secret and planned to run away and start a new life.
- Few hours after Fancy gave birth to Catherine, she entrusted her baby to the witch (Annie Fane) and then died, killed by dogs. Tragedy ensued and the three Blair sons are murdered, and another disappears. The only survivor is paralyzed by a stroke.
- Annie Fane runs away with Catherine and raises her.
- 25 years later, Catherine comes back to Camerune to bury Annie and faces the suspicions and supertitions of a whole town. Only Sheriff Luke DePriest is one her side.

All right, so where to start. Seriously, the beginning was so tragic that I couldn't help and cried. I don't want to give it away, but it's really poignant and touching. I liked both Luke and Catherine and I enjoyed how their relationship happened. Both characters are strong and good and everything, but Sharon Sala doesn't overdo it. You know how sometimes, a book has strong characters which override the story/plot... well here, it's really not the case. There is a great balance between characters and story...

Ok, seems my review isn't that great... All I can say is that I've always liked Sharon Sala's books and this is no exception. So if you like her style, don't miss this one. I guess what I like about her books it's that, the romance is subtle and there's always something happening. It's really not characters-driven and you know, it's plausible and no attempt to be extremely funny and so on.