After September

Stephanie
Smith
Genre: 
Inspirational

Rose Davis has had a horrible year: she is trying to come to terms with her divorce from her husband of over twenty years after he left her for a woman half his age. During this process, Rose has abandoned church, although she hasn't lost her faith altogether.  Looking for a new start she sells everything and heads to the island of St Croix for the summer.

Dr. Patrick Fleming lost his wife and son in a tragic accident and for several years has buried himself in his work at the orphanage on St Croix.  When he and Rose meet they wonder if there might be a new future for them both after all.

Romance readers love a second-chance story, and this one is set in island sunshine.  Readers might find the speed with which Rose and Patrick get together a little surprising, though.  One may also find the couple starting a relationship strange altogether, with Rose only planning to stay on St. Croix for the summer.  Although Rose’s faith is struggling, Patrick’s is supposedly deep; however, it doesn’t seem to infiltrate his whole life as would be expected. There are a lot of elements to the characters and the storyline, and it feels like the author couldn’t decide which to focus on and so none are developed fully.  This is coupled with a shallow writing style, including poor tense usage and some typos.  The romance between Patrick and Rose is sweet though, and readers will be glad they get their happily ever after.

Heather Belleguelle