Catherine Snodgrass Reviews

Added July 13, 2003

Circle in the Sand

Author: Catherine Snodgrass
Publisher: Amber Quill Press
Available At: www.amberquill.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Romance: Suspense
Format: Trade Paperback and Ebook download
Price: $14.50 trade paperback, $5.50 ebook
ISBN: 1-59279-025-9 ebook, 1-59279-945-0
Author Email/Website: www.catherinesnodgrass.com
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

Samantha Kent and Kelly MacLaughlin have loved each other since childhood. Unfortunately, neither told the other. They have been best friends their whole lives, and their parents have been friends for decades.

Kelly was livid. In his last year of college, he now had to quit school to support a wife and child, as his girlfriend, Loretta Peters, is pregnant. All of Kelly's long-range planning blew up in smoke. But, Kelly has always been a responsible young man, and the only thing to do, the right thing to do, was to marry Loretta. Why hadn't he ever told Samantha he loved her? He fell in lust with Sam when she was fourteen, but he was seventeen. Kelly's plans to wait until Sam's eighteenth birthday, hoping she felt the same way, didn't work out. Where does Loretta fit into this picture?

When Sam, at age 18, found out that Kelly was getting married, she was utterly devastated. Her high school graduation is about to take place. This is a time Samantha thought her life would truly begin - a life with Kelly. Now all of this is shattered. From the very beginning, once Kelly announced to Loretta's stepfather that maybe it might not be a good idea to marry Loretta, things started to look very bad. What did his future father-in-law do to ensure Kelly married Loretta? When Sam found out why Kelly had to marry Loretta, she knew she had to let go.

Immediately after Kelly's wedding, Sam moves to San Diego to attend college. Six years later is where the story really begins. Up until now Circle in the Sand reads as a love story gone sour.

A web of intrigue is drawn, with elements such as murder, adultery, treachery, deception and more. I really have to say that Circle in the Sand kept me in suspense. There is a source of underlying evil here that must be exposed. Although the category is a romantic suspense, the love and passion between Kelly and Sam is just as intense as the mystery involved.

I enjoyed the characters much more than I did the suspense. Kelly is truly an honorable man. His intentions were always good, even though he makes his share of mistakes. Sam spent many years trying to forget Kelly. When she first saw him other the first time in nearly six years, Sam's veneer cracked, and her vulnerability shone through. Sam's love, dedication and kindness is unwavering.

Circle in the Sand is a very busy novel. There were so many surprises in this book that I had to really pay attention. But, if you are looking for an a few hours of intriguing drama, pick up a copy of Circle in the Sand.

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