Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Ride of Her Life by Lorna Seilstad


Today I'm featuring a light summertime read.

Let’s begin with the summary:

The only man pragmatic Lilly Hart needs in her life is a six-year-old. Widowed two years ago, Lilly leaves the shelter of her intrusive in-laws' home to stand on her own and provide for her young son by working for the summer as a cook at Lake Manawa. 

However, her in-laws find that life utterly unsuitable for their grandson, and when a row ensues, a handsome stranger—who designs roller coasters, of all things—intercedes on her behalf. Still, Lilly is not about to get involved with any man, especially this cocky (though charismatic) gentleman. Little does she know she is about to begin the ride of her life.

And now, my review:

This story takes readers back to the lovely locale for the Lake Manawa Summer Series. I enjoyed Making Waves and was excited to read this book for review. Unfortunately, with the multitude of POV characters, I couldn’t bond with the heroine. Generally, romances focus on the heroine’s and hero’s POVs, but this one included several others, to the story’s detriment, in my opinion. And because some of the POVs were other women near Lilly’s age, I was confused a few times trying to keep the characters straight. Perhaps if I’d read all three books in this series, that may have helped. Overall, though, I’d say the multiple POVs were overkill and unnecessary. We couldn’t really connect with any one character before we were thrown into another. The story would have benefited from focused, deeper POV from the heroine’s and hero’s hearts and minds. 

These stories are great for the history lessons. I learned about roller coasters and how they were built, even back then. I hadn’t really given their origins much thought—I’m not one who loves riding roller coasters. But as you read, you can tell Lorna did her research.
The tension of the family dynamics will keep you reading. The heroine’s husband has died and his parents are coming for custody of their grandson. It’s a frightening prospect for her.  
Readers who enjoy light historical romances with a sunny setting will enjoy this novel.

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