STARGAZER
– Amanda Harte
A Hidden Falls Romance
Avalon Books
ISBN: 978-0-8034-9882-2
May 2008
Contemporary Romance Hidden Falls, New York
– Present Day
Julie Unger has arrived in the sleepy town of Hidden
Falls, New York with mixed emotions. It’s a shabby little
town, well past its heyday but recently, efforts have begun to
rebuild it to its former glory. This is where Julie comes in.
She was hired by the town council to restore the town’s
one hundred year old carousel. It’s a golden opportunity
for Julie to indulge her passion for carousels and advance her
career as a restorer. She’s also hoping to get over her
painful divorce and come to terms with the reasons why her marriage
failed, but she didn’t expect to lose her heart to handsome
widower Rick Swanson and his young son Josh. Nor did she anticipate
that someone would be unhappy by her arrival, as evidenced by
acts of vandalism to her workshop. But Julie won’t be frightened
away, either by an unknown antagonist or the possibility that
her barely mended heart may be broken once again.
Rick is not sure he will ever love a woman other
than his late wife, but Julie is quickly becoming an important
part in his life. He is grateful for the positive influence she
has on Josh, who has not spoken since his mother died. There’s
no denying that the more time Josh spends with Julie, the better
he appears, as does Rick. He realizes it’s more than a physical
attraction he has for Julie, but he’s not sure if he will
ever be ready to risk his heart again.
STARGAZER is the latest installment in author Amanda
Harte’s Hidden Falls Romances, a series that is connected
simply by the common setting in Hidden Falls and characters that
are infected with “carousel fever.” In STARGAZER,
the heroine, Julie, is the person enamored with carousels and
so has made a career of restoring them. Readers new to the series
need not have read any of the previous books to become involved
in Julie’s emotional tale. It’s a stand-alone story
of three wounded souls in need of healing. The main players, Julie,
Rick, and Josh, have suffered very tragic losses, and their pain
and suffering give them a very realistic quality that readers
can relate to and/or sympathize with, especially the totally amicable
five-year-old Josh.
There’s more to STARGAZER, however, than just
a huge tug on the heartstrings. Julie and Rick share a romance
that is charming for its sweetness, and the detailed information
about carousels that is woven into the story is fascinating. Indeed,
the title of the book refers to a stargazer, or the lead horse
on a carousel. Finally, there is a mystery unfolding throughout
the tale, for someone does not want Julie to stay in Hidden Falls.
Animosity from a few of the townspeople gives readers clues as
to who might be trying to run her out of town with small acts
of vandalism, but it’s not until the final dramatic ending
when all is revealed.
Despite the heavy issues and heartbreaking emotions
that the hero and heroine struggle with, in the end, STARGAZER
delivers a feel good romance that I certainly recommend.
Sandra Brill |