The Beginning: teenage boy and girl are in love... girl gets pregnant... boy leaves town with parents not knowing about the pregnancy. He leaves a note, that's it!
Girl gives her entire life and love to the child and has successfully lived and supported her little girl...
The aunt she lived with during her childhood dies and she goes back home to her aunt's house and her cousin with whom she grew up. They are still good friends...
Teenage boyfriend is there... In essence he immediately places a guilt trip on the girl--where has she been?... He still loves her, etc., and they wind up having sex.
This all happened so rapidly that I, the reader, had no idea what was happening. Was this a sequel and I missed it? No, this was Book 1 of the series. In The Joy of Writing Sex, Elizabeth Benedict strongly shows how you write sex scenes to be based upon the characters; i.e., once the characters have been established and we know something about them, then we are prepared for sex scenes and can consider them in relationship to the created characters. Basically, this book smacks readers with a very explicit scene, full of language that was offensive.... at least to me, given the little I had thus read.
I recognize this could have happened if it was two lovers who had been separated. But, no, this was two people, one of which had jilted the other. Now the one jilted was being harassed by the one who jilted her. Instant hate for the man; instant sympathy for the woman, until she doesn't stand up for herself!
Ok, all of that had totally turned me off the book... Then, I learn the man is a lawyer and a part of a family firm... Yet, the female is continually blamed for not finding the man--by that time he knows he's a father??? Duh! The law firm should have easily been able to find her! What is it with this spoiled, egotistical man?
Then...we find out that his family left originally because there was danger from a convicted criminal... but threats were still happening... and his former lover, now lover again is now in danger...
Aside from everything, many people knew about what was being kept secret...by both the man and woman...and did nothing to relieve the tension... The whole group of characters... were just not believable, acceptable, and certainly not somebody with whom most readers could relate...
Not recommended...Just who is asking to Shelter Who?!!!
GABixlerReviews
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