Jude Deveraux Reviews

Added March 10, 2008

Return to Summerhouse

Author: Jude Deveraux
Publisher: Pocket Books
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: July 2008
Genre: Fiction: Contemporary/Paranormal/Time Travel
Format: Paperback
Price: $7.99 US
ISBN-10: 1-4165-0973-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-0973-8
Author Email/Website:
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Utterly enchanting, unforgettable!

Return to Summerhouse is really the ultimate happily-ever-after story. These three strangers meet and even though at first glance they have nothing in common, their lives, their futures become entwined. When Amy takes the first step to fixing the destiny of someone she cares about, neither she nor the others realize just how much they'll learn not only about themselves but what's been missing in their life. And when given the chance to go back in to their pasts, Faith and Zoë have what they need to find their true loves.

I am no stranger to Jude Deveraux's books. She was, along with Jayne Anne Krentz, the first romance author I ever read. As I read more and more in this genre, I slowly drifted away from Ms. Deveraux's books, preferring those with more fantasy and science fiction elements, and with my discovery of erotic e-publishers, such as Ellora's Cave, I stopped reading traditional print romances for many years. When Return to Summerhouse crossed my desk, I glanced it and put in my reject pile because obviously it wouldn't have the fantasy or erotic elements I preferred. For reasons that escape me, I picked up Return to Summerhouse, read the back blurb and decided "What the heck?" and sat down to read. Within a few moments, I was lost in this fantastic novel by a gifted artist whom I'd forgotten.

The women in the story, Amy, Faith and Zoë are relatable in their pasts, in their regrets, in their current lives and actions. You grieve with Amy, knowing her miscarriage isn't something she'll easily move on from and that the miscarriage has also brought old questions, doubts to her mind. And when she journeys to Maine to spend a week with two women she knows nothing about because this is what a therapist has suggested, you really hope she'll find her direction. Then you meet the other two women and your first thought is "how in the world is the author going to pull out the requisite Happily-Ever-After when these women have nothing in common?" There is Faith, the young widow beaten by her life and Zoë who has no memory before the car accident, which unlocks her gift for drawing. Deveraux breathes life into these characters; gifting them with such dimension they literally step off the page and drag you along on their journey.

A feel-good story from beginning to end, Return to Summerhouse not only entertains and transports you to another world, it also challenges you to reexamine your own life and to get to know yourself and what you really want. At least, it did for me.

A true gem from an extraordinary author!

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This page was last updated on March 10, 2008

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