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ENDLESS LOVE Carmen Green BET/Arabesque September 2000 (4) Melanie Schuster |
Contemporary Romance |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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REVIEW: |
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If you have not have the pleasure of making Carmen Green’s acquaintance do so by all means. ENDLESS LOVE is the latest in a line of wonderful books that include NOW AND NEVER, SILKEN LOVE and KEEPING SECRETS. This is the story of Michael Crawford, one of the wonderful Crawford clan introduced in SILKEN LOVE and KEEPING SECRETS. Michael, although happily married when we first encountered him, is reeling from his recent divorce. The one thing his wife wanted above all, Michael could not give her and it eventually drove them apart. Like all the Crawford men, marriage, to his mind, is forever. He had spent the last 10 years of his life loving April, the woman with whom he planned to spend his life. But that part of his life is over. So how does a man who has been off the market, so to speak, for that long come back to life? With
the help of his cousin Drew, a reformed ne’er-do-well, Michael embarks on
single life with a vengeance. He
moves into a fashionable apartment complex, buys a ‘phat’ new wardrobe with
Drew’s help and tries on the single life.
He intends to break free of what he thinks is his stodgy lawyer image,
with results that are sometimes hilarious, and sometimes destructive. At
least that’s what quiet, studious Terra O’Shaughssey thinks.
All Terra wants to do is finish her master’s degree in peace and do a
good job of managing the complex. If
she succeeds, she has a shot at her dream job, managing a bigger, more luxurious
development in posh Cobb County. But
with Michael—or Mike, as he now prefers to be called—throwing loud, illegal
parties, she could find herself in jeopardy.
What’s more, if the sparks that they send off each other don’t cool
off, she could find herself engulfed in a passionate flame, just where she
doesn’t need to be. Terra
is still getting over her divorce, still trying to make peace with her less than
Cosby-esque family and trying to restore her self-esteem.
The last thing she needs is to get involved with a man like Michael
Crawford. He comes from a long line
of distinguished men and women; she comes from a long line of felons, addicts,
cons and ex-cons. They have no
business even thinking about a relationship, to Terra’s mind. But as it reads on the cover blurb, “Real love is where you
least expect it”… This
is a frank and fascinating book. Ms
Green is a writer with the confidence and ability to challenge the reader, to
draw them into the lives of her characters and shake them up a bit.
Her dialogue is fresh, funny and revealing and some of the situations in
the book are truly laugh-out-loud. Yet
she never loses the sensuality and tenderness than are one of what I think are
her hallmarks. I
love the feeling of family, the genuine affection and regard that the Crawford
clan has for each other. I like the
fact that Terra is not compelled to try and hide her situation; she is brave
enough and honest enough to talk about it to Michael.
Her family, the feckless and troubled O’Shaughssey’s, are depicted
realistically, not like caricatures. We
all know some folks like these, and may have a few in our own family trees. I
also like the way Terra and Michael communicate with one another. Although they have both suffered heartbreak, they are strong
enough and brave enough to try again. There
are some interesting secondary characters, besides the ones we will recognize
from past works. My only quibble is
that a rather nice connection between Terra’s best friend and Michael’s
cousin seemed to happen rather abruptly. I
actually would have enjoyed a little more time spent developing that
story—they were a fresh, engaging twosome. But that is a very minor quibble—it’s like asking for a second helping of dessert when you know darned well you don’t need it. But when someone writes as well as Ms Green, I just get greedy. Make room on your keeper shelf for ENDLESS LOVE. And grab her other books as fast as you can. Like the dessert I’m craving, they are simply delicious. |
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1st September 2000 |
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