Joel Carpenter has moved from Scotland to Victoria, Canada to become a recluse. Since his rise to literary stardom, he has become paranoid after many unscrupulous business and personal relationships. Right now he is dealing with writer’s block, his characters are refusing to follow his direction, and his tenant is having trouble coming up with rent on time.
Christy Taylor is an artist who has set up a small art shop, The Wandering Mind Studio, in the front of her rental property. She is a divorcee with a four-year-old daughter who suffers Type-One Diabetes. She refuses to bow to the adversity of this disease and works hard to raise a happy, well-adjusted child. Jill is a vivacious, cheerful, and active child. Christy has hired an elderly neighbor to sit with Jill while she is working or running errands.
I had a hard time connecting with or liking Joel; he is angry, arrogant, and overbearing to a fault. He lashes out at Christy at inappropriate times repeatedly. It angered me when he kissed her after yelling at her. Here is a quote as he muses about their relationship after he decides he might just like Christy. It sums him up pretty well:
“Living with Christy wouldn’t be easy, she would keep him on his toes each and every day—he pictured her rosy red lips and delectable body pressed close to his—but it would be worth the battle.”
Not very romantic if you ask me. Unfortunately, Christy is smitten with his good looks and I’m afraid her lust is coloring her good senses. Perhaps if the transformation in Joel had been accomplished through dialogue and not narration, I would feel differently? Or perhaps I wasn’t the right reader for this story? Unfortunately, that happens at times.
I came across one word that may be considered borderline offensive to some. Honestly, it made me giggle. The editing was excellent in this novella, nothing at all jumped out at me. Nice job, Ms. Biggars. **Originally written for "BigAl’s Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy.** November 14, 2016
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