Becalmed
By Normandie Fischer
Published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
With her days chock full - designing jewelry for the shop she co-owns with her best friend, sailing her sharpie, and hanging out with girlfriends - Tadie Longworth barely notices she's morphing into the town's maiden aunt. When Will, a widower with a perky daughter named Jilly, limps into town in a sailboat badly in need of engine repairs, Tadie welcomes the chance to help. Her shop becomes Jilly's haven while Will hunts boat parts, and Tadie even takes the two of them sailing. It's the kind of thing she lives for, and it's a welcome distraction from the fact that her ex-boyfriend Alex, aka The Jerk of Jerks, is back in town. With his northern bride. Oh, and he's hitting on Tadie, too.
Those entanglements are more than enough, thank you very much, so it's almost a relief when a hurricane blows into town: at least the weather can match Tadie's mood. When Will and Jilly take shelter in her home, though, Tadie finds herself battling her attraction to Will. Even worse, the feeling is mutual, tempting them all with what-ifs that petrify Will, who has sworn never to fall in love again. Mired in misunderstanding, he takes advantage of the clear skies and hauls Jilly out of there and back to his broken boat so fast, Tadie's head spins.
With the man she might have loved gone, and the man she wishes gone showing up on her doorstep, Tadie finds herself like a sailboat with no wind; becalmed, she has to fight her way back against the currents to the shores of the life, and the man, she wants to have.
Review:
I'm doing something I rarely do in a book. I'm savoring Beclamed, by Normandie Fischer. I have dozens of books in my to-be-read pile that I usually speed read. But when I come across one that's so good, the characters so beautifully drawn, I discipline myself to stop after about 6 chapters a night; I don't want to reach the end. What I find so interesting about Becalmed is that I'm not sure how she's going to get Will to come around. Becalmed is truly masterfully written! Novel Rocket and I give it a very high recommendation. It's a must read and going on my Top Ten for 2013 list.
Reviewed by: Ane Mulligan
Novel Rocket president/Sr. editor
How fun to come upon this here at the start of the new year and as I gear up to market my next book, Sailing out of Darkness. My thanks again to Ane Mulligan for her lovely review.
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to do it, Normandie. I remember "meeting" you on an e-loop and buying the book. I think it's so cool that a friendship grew from that reading!
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