~ Review: Surrender to Love ~

PLOT SYNOPSIS:  Wanted for the murder of her abusive husband, Julia Kelley flees with her six-year-old daughter only to have her car break down in a small town. Mechanic Carson Webber comes to her rescue, and knows he can help her with whatever else troubles her. Carson suspects a broken down car is the least of her worries, and is determined to win Julia's trust--and her heart.

REVIEW:  Can a small town provide a haven and protection from big city danger?

SURRENDER TO LOVE takes a wonderful look at the blossoming relationship between a city doctor, Julia Kelley, and a small town mechanic, Carson Webber. It is a nice take of the big city doctor who stumbles in to Black Mayberry, USA.

As the story begins, Julia is on the run. Her ex-husband has been killed. She trusted the FBI once to help her when she noticed his picture on a most wanted poster. They failed which makes her reluctant to trust them again. She has no destination in mind nor does she know where she is. She packs in a hurry and has little money. Her only goal is to get as far away from Atlanta as possible in order to keep her daughter, Robin, safe. Julia is hoping that distance and a .357 Magnum will protect them. But while driving through a terrible rainstorm, her car breaks down.

Carson is on his way to his sister’s inn for dinner. He notices Julia and decides to stop to help. Instantly, the two are attracted to each other. He offers to tow, as well as fix, her car. He invites her to stay with his sister, Lilly. Julia intrigues him even though he notices the wedding ring on her finger.

As the title indicates, Julia and Carson are apprehensive to give into love. Julia has been married twice. She is not in the market for another one. But the more time she spends with Carson, the less concerned she is about her broken car. Carson is a widower who has had what he believes to be the one great love of his life. His only concern now is raising his daughter, Bobbi. Now there are feelings surfacing that he thought he had buried with his wife. He is in no hurry to fix her car until he can better understand the attraction.

SURRENDER TO LOVE is warm and funny. It has a cast full of wonderful secondary characters that live in Moreland. The relationship that develops between Bobbi and Robin is priceless. The whole town is playing cupid for this couple. The two are under the undivided matchmaking focus of Carson’s mother, Lilly and both their daughters. They don’t stand a chance.

The only problem I have with the story is the secondary characters at the FBI.  Their presence slows the pace of the story, and does little to help either the romance or the mystery. Those characters are interesting but out of place.

This is the best work that I have read by Ms. Byrd. She is steadily progressing as an author.  This is definitely a good read.

18th March 2002