Fade to Blue by Julie Carobini
May 15th 2011 by B&H Publishing Grp
Paperback, 400 Pages
Review Copy
Suz Mitchell is the determined dreamer we should all be and won't allow her ex-husband Len's jail sentence to ruin their young son Jeremiah's life. An accomplished artist, she moves with her child across the country to California's central coast and lands a sweet job restoring priceless paintings at the historic Hearst Castle overlooking the ocean.
To her utter surprise, a serious old flame, Seth, is also now working at Hearst and jumbles the dreams inside Suz's heart. While sorting out the awkwardness of their past split and current spiritual differences, a repentant Len shows up eager to restore his family.
Review
Suz Mitchell never dreamed she would be returning home to raise her son alone when she married Len. Dreams of a happy family and an exuberant husband made her oblivious to the red flags around her. When she noticed large amounts of money one day, gone the next she thought it must be Len’s job. When he stayed out all hours of the night, again she blew it off as his job, for everything happening Suz turned a blind eye. So when Len gets jailed for drug dealing and then later files for divorce due to the fact that he met his soul mate, Suz is one word…devastated.
So our confused, heartbroken character moves in with her brother, who willingly supports her and Jeremiah as Suz begins working as an artist restoring historic paintings at the Hearst Castle. To her pleasurable surprise, Suz realizes how much she missed being an artist and how deeply the passion runs. She’s determined to make a new life and find happiness and renew her faith. During this process Suz runs into her old flame, Seth- a man she left long ago and soon discovers there are still feelings. As her heart begins to heal and the potential of a relationship harbors with Seth, guess who shows up out of jail ready to reclaim his family? If you guessed Jerk with a capital J, you would be right!! Suz struggles with her torn emotions, she’s confused over Lens reappearance and his commitment to being a good father. She doesn’t want him back as a husband but has a tiny thread of fear that God wants her to reconcile. But what about Seth…what about her brother and his strong warnings against Len…most importantly what about Jeremiah?
While I enjoyed this story and its simple plotline, I had a hard time with Suz, she seemed so wishy-washy and I wanted her to be much more strong by the time Len showed his face again and I felt her falling into a mistake that could easily be avoided, I wanted to see more courage and less fear with all the back and forth over the future of her life. Im sure this had to do with the fact that while Suz was dealing with faith aspects, I as the reader was dealing with Len and could see something sleazy in him, I think my annoyance came from Suz not seeing once again who Len was. Overall with a few reservations to my likeness of the main character, I did love the beach-like setting and the summer feel Fade to Blue delivered. Perfect for a light, everyday kind of story.
Rating
Fade to Blue can be read by adults and mature teens and is recommended to those who like faith-based fiction. Contains: Divorce, illegal activities, family drama, single parenting, art, romance and friendships.
Thanks to B&H and the CFBA for review copy
I can tell Suz's wishy-washiness would start to grate on me, but other than that this sounds like a good read. Obviously, having never been in Suz's place it's easy for me to scream NO DON'T GO BACK TO HIM, but I imagine that would be a harder decision that one would think:) Fantastic review Tina!
ReplyDeleteI hate wishy washy characters because it does affect the plot and others around them.Great review
ReplyDeleteSomething about how Suz handle thing does seem authentic. Sometimes it's hard to see what others see, especially when you are going through a divorce and and questioning your faith in yourself.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover of this one!
Wow. Sounds like some real life stories I heard about on TV recently.
ReplyDeleteThis is my job. I am so sorry.
ReplyDeleteiphone case
iphone 4 case
ysl shoes
jimmy choo shoe
christian louboutin shoe
christian louboutin pumps
jimmy choo boots
Air Max 90
Nike Shox
Nike Air Max 90
Nike rift
Nike Air Max 90
Air Max 90
lingerie
sexy sexy lingerie
sexy underwear
lingerie sexy
iphone 4 case
iphone 4 cover