Review: When We Met by Susan Mallery

When We Met

(Fool's Gold, #13)

by Susan Mallery

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery invites you back to Fool's Gold, where a newcomer to town might finally meet the man she never knew she needed. . .

Angel Whittaker earned his scars the hard way, but the scars that can't be seen are the ones that haunt him the most.  Since he moved to Fool's Gold, California, he's cobbled together a life for himself as a bodyguard trainer.  If he's not exactly happy, at least his heart is safe.

Working with pro-football superstars taught tough-talking PR woman Taryn Crawford one thing -- she can go toe-to-toe with any man.  But then dark, dangerous former Special Ops Angel targets her for seduction. . . and challenges her to resist his tempting kisses.

Even in four-inch heels, Taryn never backs down.  Unless, somehow, Angel can convince her that surrender might feel even better than victory. 

My thoughts: Taryn and Angel were both mentioned in the last book and it was fun to see that storyline picked up in When We Met.  Neither is looking for a relationship - Angel because he had a family once - and he felt that he couldn't keep them safe - so didn't want to travel that path again.  Taryn had an ugly childhood and was left scarred by both parents, and feels single is safer if it means never having to trust again.  However. . . they are both open to having a little fun.

Taryn runs a PR firm and bosses around three NFL players, so when she is not at work she likes it that Angel doesn't always play be the rules.  He isn't following the script she is used to which leaves her even more intrigued.  Angel likes it that Taryn doesn't run from a challenge but actually steps up to play.  This makes for an interesting combination as the dating ritual begins, as neither one knows what to expect.

If it was all about the sparks, maybe neither one would be in trouble - but along the way they discover the softer side that they each try to hide.  

I liked this couple very much - both powerful, Taryn in her job, Angel - both physically and at his job.  At the same time, though they try to fight it, they very much love being a part of this small community and giving back.  Taryn might fight that every one is "too nice", but is really enjoying have girlfriends.  And though Angel feels he was coerced into being a Grove Keeper for a group of 7-8 year old girls, he is really enjoying it.  As they get to know each other, they also begin to know themselves better, and they are really not the loners they think they are.

 I have had the opportunity to read only one other Fool's Gold book - Three Little Words, but have found they they read very well as stand alones.  It was fun to recognize some of the other characters in the book and know some of their back story, so I look forward to continuing on in the series and hope to one day have the chance to go back and see where it all started.  

~I was given a copy of When We Met by Meryl Moss Media in exchange for my unbiased review.~

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About the author: SUSAN MALLERY is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 80 novels, with more than 25 million books sold worldwide. Mallery is known for creating characters who feel as real as the folks next door, and for putting them into emotional, often funny situations readers recognize from their own lives. Susan’s books have made Booklist’s Top 10 Romances list in four out of five consecutive years. RT Book Reviews says, “When it comes to heartfelt contemporary romance, Mallery is in a class by herself.” With her popular, ongoing Fool’s Gold series, Susan has reached new heights on the bestsellers lists and has won the hearts of countless new fans. Susan grew up in southern California, moved so many times that her friends stopped writing her address in pen, and now has settled in Seattle with her husband and the most delightfully spoiled little dog who ever lived. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.

WHEN WE MET
by Susan Mallery
Harlequin; May 1, 2014
352 pages; $8.99 U.S./$9.99 CAN.
ISBN- 978-0-373-77865-2

Win The Susan Mallery Foolproof Bridal Kit! - Three Little Words by Susan Mallery

Title: Three Little Words 
Author: Susan Mallery

About the book: Can first love turn into the real deal in a sizzling new Fool's Gold story from New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery? Isabel Carlisle thinks she's cursed in the romance department. Her teenage crush, Ford Hendrix, ignored all her letters. Her husband left her for another...man. So Isabel has come home to dust off her passion for fashion and run the family bridal shop until her parents are ready to sell it. Then she'll pursue her real dreams. At least, that's the plan, until sexy, charming Ford returns and leaves her feeling fourteen all over again.... 

Seeing Isabel all grown up hits bodyguard trainer Ford like a sucker punch. Back when heartbreak made him join the military, her sweet letters kept him sane. Now he can't take his eyes-or his lips-off her. The man who gave up on love has a reason to stay in Fool's Gold forever-if three little words can convince Isabel to do the same....

My thoughts: I had such a fun time reading this book and learning about some of the Fool's Gold's residents!  I guess this is book twelve, but it was fine as a stand-alone.  I may need to go back and pick up some of the first ones!  

At one time Ford was engaged to Isabel's sister Maeve.  Of course, Isabel was only fourteen years old at the time and thought her sister was crazy when she broke off the engagement.  She swore she would love Ford forever and wrote him letters for ten years.  Meanwhile, he left town and became a Navy Seal, and never wrote Isabel back.  

When Isabel got engaged herself, she wrote Ford and told him that she would no longer be sending any letters as she didn't feel it was appropriate any more.  As fate would have it, they both end up back in Fool's Gold a few years later - single - and not looking for love.

The chemistry between Ford and Isabel was unmistakable, and despite that, they start "fake" dating to try to fool Ford's mom.  But the only people they are fooling is each other. 

There is more than one romance afoot in Fool's Gold though and that keeps the book moving along.  It was a quick read with lot's of interesting secondary characters - some of which I am sure were introduced to lead into more Fool's Gold books.  I would definitely pick up another book by Susan Mallery. 

~I received a complimentary copy of Three Little Words from Meryl L. Moss Media in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Purchase: 

  

Follow along with the whole tour at BookTrib!

Enter the rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win The Susan Mallery Foolproof Bridal Kit.  I want to win this!!!

The Susan Mallery Foolproof Bridal Kit includes:

• A wedding-themed bottle of OPI nail polish
• Not Your Mother’s® Rise & Shine™ Silky Smooth Shine Mist
• Manicure set (includes emery board, small and large nail clippers, tweezers, cuticle stick and nail polish remover pad)
• Heart-shaped compact mirror
• 12-piece E.L.F. eye shadow kit
• Travel makeup brush set
• Makeup remover wipes
• Lip gloss
• Travel sewing kit
• Kleenex®
• Secret® deodorant
• Razor and Gillette® Shave Gel
• Nivea Creme
• Wisps toothbrushes
• TRESemmé® hairspray

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The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane (Blog Tour and Giveaway)

Title: The Line Between Here and Gone
Author: Andrea Kane
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA


About the Book: "The man she loved is gone forever. The child she lives for could be next."Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason's newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin's best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child.

Or was he?

One emailed photo changes everything, planting a seed of doubt that Amanda latches on to for dear life: a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin's father be alive? The mother in her is desperate to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs.

"Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge."

A behaviorist. A former navy SEAL. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A retired FBI agent. A human-scent-evidence dog. Together they achieve the impossible, pushing ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means.

The manhunt is on for the elusive father. Yet the further FI digs into his past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever really existed at all.

Dark secrets. Carefully crafted lies. From the congressional halls of Washington, D.C., to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find.

Little do "they" realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends "The Line Between Here and Gone."

EXCERPT:  It was well past business hours but she didn’t care.

She knew they worked around the clock when necessary. She wouldn’t call; she wouldn’t give them a chance to turn her away.

To read the excerpts from the beginning and follow along with the tour - please visit Book Trib!

My thoughts: Although this is the second book in the Forensic Instincts series, it read very well as a stand alone.  (The first book is The Girl Who Disappeared Twice).  They did a good job of introducing you to the Forensic Instincts team, Casey, Claire, Marc, Patrick, Ryan and Hero.  These five people (and dog) work well together and all bring their specific talents/areas of expertise to the table.  There are a couple of ex-FBI agents, a techno-geek and an "intuitive" or clairvoyant to the rest of us, but she doesn't like to be called that.  Their current case is to locate the missing, presumed dead, father of an infant, Justin, who is fighting for his life.  Amanda, his mother, had heard about this team due to their recent involvement in a kidnapping case (the first book) and when a friend snaps a picture of a man that resembles her "dead" boyfriend she follows her own instincts and hires them.

They quickly get immersed in the case and find that it involves much more than just saving a baby's life - but it doesn't stop them in pursuing any leads -- regardless of any danger or who will be brought down in the process.  They are all in when it comes to doing whatever they can to save Justin's life.

I loved this book and because of the diversity of the team, the speed at which they were able to come up with leads and evidence is believable.  The author allows you to see some of the things going on behind the scenes, but doesn't let you know who the players are until the very end.  Ms. Kane is going to be an author that I watch for, and I am going to have to go back and read the first book in the series - The Girl Who Disappeared Twice.  

Thanks to Meryl Moss Media, I have one copy of this book to give away to one of my US/Canada readers.  Please fill out the rafflecopter form below to enter!

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Meryl Moss Media in exchange for my review.~

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The Line Between Here and Gone
Publisher/Publication Date: MIRA, July 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7783-1337-3
400 pages

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain (Book Review and Giveaway)

It is so exciting that this tour is ending with a live chat with the author!  I haven't looked far enough ahead to see if I will be at work or not, but if not, I know who I will be chatting with!

Title: The Good Father
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: MIRA

About the book: Four years ago, nineteen-year-old Travis Brown made a choice: to raise his newborn daughter on his own.  While most of his friends were out partying and meeting girls, Travis was at home, changing diapers and worrying about keeping food on the table.  But he's never regretted his decision.  Bella is the light of his life.  The reason behind every move he makes.  And so far, she is fed. Cared for. Safe.

But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he's worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble. . .

Then a miracle.  A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around.  It has to.  But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.

With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter's sake.

Even if it means he might lose her. 

Excerpt:

One of them smiled at me, then went red in the face and looked away. I hardly glanced at her. I only saw the thirty-something woman sitting in the leather chair. I felt like hugging her.

            "Hey," I said, like it was any other morning. "How's it going?"

My thoughts:  I have been wanting to read a book by Diane Chamberlain for awhile and jumped at the chance to review this one when it came along!  I am so glad that I did!  (I had to go back and adjust this statement as this is the SECOND book that I have read by Ms. Chamberlain!  The first was The Midwife's Confession which I also loved - click on the title to check out my review.)

The book is narrated by three people: Travis, Erin, and Robin.

Travis is Bella’s father and has been raising her with just the help of his mother since she was born.  But recently they have fallen on some hard times.  They lost their home, Travis lost his job, and his mother, pretty much all at once.  He is doing his best to find work, but without someone to care for Bella he is really struggling.  Through a friend he hears about an opportunity in Raleigh, so goes to check it out.  I think he is still in shock from losing his mom and isn’t thinking through each situation like he should.  He may be 23 and raising a child, but I think he depended a lot on his mom. 

In Raleigh at a little coffee shop Travis meets Erin, our next narrator.  Erin has recently lost a little girl about the same age as Bella.  In her grief she has been unable to work and unable to relate to her husband, so she has moved into her own apartment to give herself some space from him.  Erin is instantly taken with Bella, but doesn’t feel like she should be as she could be betraying her own daughter.  Travis makes the decision to leave Bella with Erin so he can complete the job opportunity that he heard about.  They have been living out of his van for a couple of days and he needs to get Bella somewhere more stable, so he has to do this job – even if he feels in his gut that it is wrong.

Meanwhile we meet Robin, Bella’s mother.  She almost lost her life carrying Bella, and was so sick after she was born, that thinking about raising a child was the last thing on her mind.  Her dad did everything in his power to keep her and Travis apart, meanwhile telling them both lies to further his plan of action.  Bella is now healthy, running a B and B, and engaged to the Mayor’s son, Dale.

I love all of these characters.  Travis made some bad decisions, but I think his heart was in the right place.  Erin steps up even in her grief to take care of Bella, even if she was left with her in a somewhat unorthodox fashion.  I even liked Robin, who you could tell was a good person and you know she would have kept her baby if the situation had been different.

The culmination of the three of them coming together with Bella is very suspenseful!  You just have to hope that they will all make the right choices this time – choices that will keep them safe and give them a chance at happiness. 

I loved this book and am sorry that it had to end!

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Meryl L. Moss Media in exchange for my unbiased review.~

And now for the giveaway!  First entry is easy - just leave your email address and click enter!  Giveaway is open to US/Canada only and will end at Midnight on May 18, 2012. 

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The Good Father
Publisher/Publication Date: MIRA, April 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7783-1346-5
347 pages

The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy (Book Review)

Title: The Legacy of Eden
Author: Nelle Davy
Publisher: MIRA Books

About the Book:  "To understand what it meant to be a Hathaway you'd first have to see Aurelia."

For generations, Aurelia was the crowning glory of more than three thousand acres of Iowa farmland and golden cornfields.  The estate was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway's dream to elevate the family name -- no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process.  It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways -- and the once-prosperous farm.

Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died -- alone.  None of the surviving members of the Hathaway family want anything to do with the farm, the land or the memories.

Especially Meredith Pincetti.  Now living in New York City, for seventeen years Lavinia's youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past.  But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family's once-great name.

Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family. . . and her own part in their mottled history.

My thoughts:  Lavinia is the matriarch of the Hathaway family and she is bound and determined to create a legacy of land and family even if it costs her members of that family.  Her own rise to matriarch is made with calculation and scandal, but once ensconsed there, she plans on staying there.

The story goes back three generations, well really four generations, but the "family" and Aurelia begins when Lavinia marries Cal.  They take over running the farm, with Cal's sister, Piper, and begin it's prosperous rise.  Leo, Cal's other brother, upset over the way the inheritance from their father played out, has left - to never look back.  This is just the beginning of those who choose to leave, or are sent away.

Lavinia fears no one when it comes to making decisions for what she feels is best for her family.  With manipulation and cunning, she sets out to rid herself of any opposition, be it blood relation or otherwise. 

The story is told by Meredith, and it was confusing for me to follow in the beginning.  It would jump back and forth from how she heard the story, whether from her father when she was still in the womb, or from her grandmother as she lay dying, or from her own experiences. I eventually made myself a family tree so that I could keep the branches straight.

When Cal Jr. dies, the lawyers begin to look for surviving members of the Hathaway family.  Finally finding Meredith, she eventually feels she should return to Aurelia, just for those items that were her parents'.  She does not want to go, as she doesn't want to awaken any more ghosts from her past than she already has.  But go she does only to find another sister felt compelled to return as well. 

This is one of those books that needs to ruminate awhile to get the full effect. I am sure that if I were to write a review a week from now, there would be different aspects to the story that would have surfaced.  There is so much said between the lines that I think this would be a great book for a book club to discuss. 

Now, having said all that, I found the setting of Iowa a little strange.  I grew up in Iowa from 1966 - 1986, in a farming community, and I never knew of any farmer who named their farm, or went to such lengths, in a way that Lavinia did.  Maybe that was the point though. . .

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Meryl L. Moss Media in exchange for my unbiased review.~

There is currently a scavenger hunt going on for excerpts of The Legacy of Eden.  You can find all the information here.  Please come back and visit me on the 18th, when I will have my own excerpt posted here!

The Legacy of Eden

Publisher/Publication Date: MIRA Books, Feb 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7783-2955-8

368 pages

Challenges:

New Authors
Where Are You Reading?
Find the Cover/Coversuch
ARC Reading Challenges (2)
Free Reads Challenge
Harlequin Silhoutte Challenge

Guest Post: Nelle Davy author of The Legacy of Eden

Imagination has no boundaries – it is a vast landscape without maps or limitations. I know the old axiom is ‘write what you know’ but why should it be? Why should female writers confine themselves to the domestic and the minutiae of life, while their male counterparts explore fresh new terrain? I decided when I started writing that I would do only one thing and that was write the kind of book I would read and I would not limit myself. Of course it is difficult taking on the voice and culture of another country that is not your own but that is what a library and research is for. I spent a lot of time doing research about America and Iowa in particular (I read a lot of Bill Bryson who described what it was like to grow up in Iowa and I found his anecdotes – particularly his description of the state fair really invaluable). I was also lucky that I had an agent in America who could look over my first draft and say to me ‘an American would not say this or do this’ about small things that I would never have thought over. But these were small changes really, by that point I had already captured (or hope I have) the American voice. Mostly I found it really exciting to do something so challenging. I think that is the beauty of fiction, that you can escape – and I really did – to a different time and completely different place. The ironic thing is I have been to lots of places in America where I could have set the book (Pennsylvania for starters) but I chose a state I had never even seen. I guess I just like to be difficult.

Nelle Davy was born in Grenada in 1984 and was raised in London within an Anglo-Caribbean family. She studied English with creative writing at the University of Warwick and then undertook a master of philosophy degree in creative writing at Trinity College Dublin. She currently lives in London with her husband, where she works in publishing. THE LEGACY OF EDEN is her first novel and she is currently working on her second.

Thank you Ms. Davy for being a guest here today!  I hope that everyone comes back tomorrow for my review and a giveaway of The Legacy of Eden.  This book is currently on tour with a scavenger hunt - please check out this link to see all the blogs participating!

About the book: "To understand what it meant to be a Hathaway you'd first have to see Aurelia." For generations, a grand estate house was the crowning glory of over three thousand acres of Iowa farm land and golden corn fields. Named Aurelia, it was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway's dream to elevate the family name - no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process. It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways - and the once prosperous farm. Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died - alone. None of the surviving members of the Hathaway dynasty want anything to do with the house, the land or the memories. Especially Meredith Pincetti. Now living in New York City, for seventeen years Lavinia's youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy which destroyed her family's once-great name. Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family...and her own part in their mottled history.

Scavenger Hunt Blog Tour: Lovesick by Spencer Seidel

Title: Lovesick
Author: Spencer Seidel
Publisher: Publishing Works, Inc.


About the book:  “‘He’s got a knife!’ Jimmy said after seeing the glint of a blade in the kid’s hand. Jimmy brought his gun up and squared it at the kid.”

A murder rocks Portland, Maine after police discover an incoherent teen sitting in a pool of blood late one night. Paul Ducharme is found with a murder weapon in one hand, the dead body of his best friend in the other, and no clue how he got to the Eastern Promenade Trail.

A teenage love triangle gone wrong brings Spencer Seidel back with a vengeance in LOVESICK (PublishingWorks; $14.95; June 2012), the follow up to his breakout novel Dead of Wynter. Seidel deftly illustrates the trying relationship amid a friend and love interest – each with their own desires, issues and shocking agendas.

Wendy, the girl of Paul’s dreams, has been missing for weeks. Her boyfriend Lee has been murdered–apparently by Paul. It’s an open and shut case–or so most of Portland thinks.

When forensic psychologist Dr. Lisa Boyers is asked to interview Paul, who claims to forget the events leading up to the murder, she reluctantly agrees. In her jailhouse interviews, Lisa helps Paul to recover his memories, but the murder’s circumstances force her to recall her own troubled past.

Media attention mounts. Reporters stream into Portland. All eyes turn to Lisa. She seems intent on exonerating the “brutal teen killer” but quickly finds herself the focus of an over-zealous reporter with a knack for digging up dirty secrets. But the killer who has Lisa in the crosshairs already knows them all.

My thoughts:  I read this book in one sitting!  I had to know who had done it!  The story is told by Paul and he is relating his history with Wendy and Lee to Dr. Lisa Boyers.  She has been hired by an attorney to help evaluate Paul and see if she can get him to remember the events leading up to the night he is found with Lee's body.  Because he is the one telling the story, it is told in chunks as they only have a couple of hours a day to meet.

There is plenty going on in between those times though!  Lisa's past, which she has never effectively dealt with on a personal level, begins to rear it's head.  Between the media hype that this case has created and reconnecting with Rudy Swaner, the attorney who hired her, she was bound to have to deal with some of the events from her past.  She didn't realize when she took the case though, how much she had in common with Wendy.

This was a fast-paced book that at times was predictable, still had a twist at the end that I didn't see coming.  I very much enjoyed Dead of Wynter last year, and really enjoyed this one as well.  Spencer Seidel is definitely going to be an author I keep my eye out for.

Scavenger Hunt!  I didn't realize I was the start of the Scavenger Hunt!   You can read the excerpt below and find the next blog listed at the end - or to get the full list all at once - check out this link.



Here is an excerpt from Lovesick:

Patrolman Jimmy Preece would tell the story for the rest of his life. On his first night out as a rookie cop on the streets of Portland, Maine, he and his partner, a ten-year veteran of Portland PD, discovered a grisly killing on the Eastern Promenade, next to the 295 overpass.

It was a murder that would make headlines throughout the Northeast, especially after what happened to that shrink in the weeks afterward. Murder in Portland is not unheard of, but it is unusual.

At the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro, Jimmy had learned that Cumberland County has only one or two murders a year.

That stat offers little comfort to the families of the victims, something the cadets don’t always learn at the academy. Murder isn’t a statistic. In real life, it’s a dead family member. It’s a tragedy. http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/

Q&A

1. When and why did you begin writing?

 In some sense, I feel like I’ve always been a writer. The compulsion began when I was about six or so, after reading books like The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. But it wasn’t until years later, after I’d more-or-less given up on a career as a musician, that I began to write fiction seriously. That was in my mid-twenties. I’m not so sure as to the why of it. It’s just something I feel like I need to do.

2. Do you have a specific writing style?

A couple of reviews called my writing “lyrical” and/or “flowing,” which is hugely flattering. Having a nearly 25-year background in music, I’m conscious of cadences in writing, particularly in dialogue. I think that could be considered a style, but I’m always working to get better, to evolve.

3. How did you come up with the title?

Ugh. Titles. I hate coming up with titles. Lovesick began as “The Streets of Portland,” which I knew was terrible. When I was about a quarter of the way through my first draft, I was brainstorming on titles using the word “love.” It then just popped into my head. Lovesick is a kind of twisted love story, so it seemed like a perfect fit to me.

4. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

No. Or perhaps I should say that none was intended. I don’t write with an agenda, so anything that pops up will likely be because of some psychological quirk of mine. And there are, ahem, many of those.

5. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Sol Stein, although I suppose he’s more well known as an editor. He wrote a wonderful book on the craft of writing called “Stein On Writing.” I keep some typed-up notes from that book handy to read every now and again. He’s a mentor I’ve never met.

Lovesick
Publisher/Publication Date: Publishing Works, June 2012
ISBN: 978-1-935557-51-7
378 pages

Challenges:
Where Are You Reading
A to Z Reading Challenge
Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge
ARC Reading Challenge (2)
Free Reads Challenge
Reading Romances Challenge (3)
Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge

The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman (Book Review)

Title: The Kingdom of Childhood
Author: Rebecca Coleman
Publisher: MIRA Books

About the book: The Kingdom of Childhood is the story of a boy and a woman: sixteen-year-old Zach Patterson, uprooted and struggling to reconcile his knowledge of his mother's extramarital affair, and Judy McFarland, a kindergarten teacher watching her family unravel before her eyes.  Thrown together to organize a fundraiser for their failing private school and bonded by loneliness, they begin an affair that at first thrills, then corrupts, each of them.  Judy sees in Zach the elements of a young man she loved as a child, but what Zach does not realize is that their relationship is, for Judy, only the latest in a lifetime of disturbing secrets.  As the walls close in, Zach finds himself needing to disentangle himself from premature adulthood.  but the lines between adult and child have blurred, and life and sanity are unraveling faster and further than anyone could ever have imagined.

My thoughts:  This was a disturbing book to read.  Like a car wreck that you can't look away from, I found it hard to put this book down.  We slowly learn about Judy's past throughout the book, and the secrets that she has either been keeping or repressed from her childhood.  Born into a dysfunctional family, I was surprised that she kept things together for as long as she did before she began to spiral out of control. 

I did feel sorry for Zach in the book.  He may have helped instigate the relationship, but it should have been Judy, as the adult, who behaved appropriately and didn't pursue it.  She was definitely out of control mentally, and being a mom to two teen girls I couldn't even imagine having a relationship with any of their friends!  Rebecca Coleman did a great job in portraying both Judy and her mental instability and the feelings that Zach was having as a teenager in a relationship in which he didn't belong.  I highly recommend this book to all readers!

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Meryl L. Moss Media in exchange for my review.~

The Kingdom of Childhood

Publisher/Publication Date: MIRA Books, Oct 2011

ISBN: 978-0-7783-1278-9

352 pages