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A LOVE OF HER OWN Bettye Griffin BET/Arabesque November 1999 (5) by Melanie Schuster |
Contemporary Romance |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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REVIEW: |
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Bettye Griffin has
outdone herself with this fascinating book.
The theme of this book is one that is very close to my heart, since I am
also unable to have children, like the resolute heroine, Ava Maxwell.
Trust me when I tell you that if there is one thing I can attest to as a
reviewer and one who is unable to bear children, it is the anguish that
condition brings. And I assure you
that there is not one false word in this book. Ava Maxwell has managed to put a lot of pain behind her. Her marriage dissolved when her husband realized that she was
not able to have children. Her
mother treats her like a second-class citizen while she reveres the
daughter-in-law who has given her grandchildren.
But Ava is strong enough to make a life for herself despite her
disappointment. She has thrown
herself into running an upscale wedding boutique and is a successful, albeit
lonely career woman. Ava has more
or less cut herself off from romance, reasoning that no man could ever give
himself totally to a woman who cannot have children. Hilton White is a fabulous exception to that kind of
thinking. Handsome, intelligent,
compassionate and loving, he shows Ava that she is a desirable woman who is
entitled to love and happiness, two things that he is willing to give her in
abundance. But Hilton has some
issues from the past that he is going to have to reconcile before he can give
Ava the love that they so richly deserve. This book was a revelation to me in a lot of ways. In
many ways, Ava is the polar opposite of the heroine of AT
LONG LAST LOVE, Ms Griffin’s first book.
Kendall, as some readers will recall, simply did not want to have
children. Ava, ironically a good
friend of Kendall, wants them desperately and cannot have them. I was very
pleased to see Ms Griffin tackle two such different heroines and make them both
sympathetic, real women for whom the reader will cheer. I also applaud the way Ms Griffin presents the subject
with compassion and honesty. One of
the secondary characters is a fascinating study of the lengths to which women
will go in order to protect that ‘happily-ever-after’ paradigm that society
lays out for us. A LOVE OF
HER OWN challenges the notions of family, of love, and of
relationships in general, even the role of women in society.
Are we women only because we can bear children?
If we cannot, does this make us less womanly?
And is a family a family by accident of birth or felicity of design? I have to admit that this book speaks to my heart because I can so strongly relate to Ava. I have heard the same thoughtless remarks that Ava endured, cringed from the well-meaning remarks and felt the same pain. But aside from the fact that the book handles such weight issues with ease, it is above all a lovely romance. It has it all—drama, poignant humanity and heat. This is a book not to be missed! If you haven’t yet read A LOVE OF HER OWN , go out and get a copy of your own today! |
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2002 |
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