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FOREVER AND A DAY - Dyanne Davis Parker Publishing/Noire Allure February 2007 |
SYNOPSIS: Two people, born and raised in New Orleans, have drastically different lives until a storm unites them. But can love overcome secrets, corruption and economic class? Can true love survive Katrina?
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE |2| Marguerite Lemons
REVIEW: Torrie and Jake are childhood friends from different
sides of the track. A misunderstanding from when they were teens has
driven a wedge between them that neither is sure how to overcome. When
Hurricane Katrina brings Torrie’s dreams to fruition, Jake risks his
life driving to New Orleans, as the storm moves in, to save her. But
Torrie and Jake’s reunion is bittersweet; Torrie can’t move forward
until she knows that her family is safe, but they are still trying to
keep her and Jake apart. Her family wants to protect her, but they
should simply mind their own business.
FOREVER AND A DAY is a journey through the devastation and the
hopelessness that so many families felt after one of the worst natural
disasters of our time. However, Ms. Davis has managed to show the spirit
of survival, the renewal of relationships, and the uncompromising love
that no hurricane, or breeched levee, can kill.
Now, with that said, I found Ms. Davis' heroine, Torrie unappealing. She
has a successful business and her own home, but she is
uncharacteristically immature. She allows her family to interfere and
control her life; and she expects more of Jake than she herself is
willing to give. Her family’s overly dramatic reaction to her
relationship with Jake is irritating. I realize part of their problem
with Jake is New Orleans’ underlying “class” system, and the corruption
between the wealthy families and the politicians. However, Jake left
town over a decade before the storm to build a life without his family’s
influence, but Torrie’s family continued to blame him for the sins of
his father, and his one mistake with Torrie. Her sister Kimmie and
cousin Trey just couldn’t let go of the past and allow Torrie to make
her own decisions where Jake was concerned.
The pacing flows well until the main characters are reunited. Once the
storms end and the family settles down, everything slows to a crawl. I
didn’t like Kimmie and Trey, even after the reason for their reaction is
explained. I would have preferred more background on both sets of
parents and their respective relationships.
Ms. Davis’ latest effort gives readers some insight into the lives of
the Katrina survivors and what it will take for them to completely
recover from this disaster. As a romance, however, FOREVER AND A DAY
failed to satisfy.
reviewer@romanceincolor.com |15th March 2007