ISBN 0446364797 - This has got to be one of the hardest books for me to review yet. That's not because it's so good that I'm shocked speechless; it's not because it's so BAD that I'm at a loss for words - it's really that it's a combination. This is a really good, touching story... and some of the worst writing I've come across in a long time.Kathleen was an orphan who found people she loved in B.J. and Edna, the people who ran the Mountain View Encampment, which was open to orphans like herself. As an adult, she returned to Mountain View as a counselor and B.J. and Edna were thrilled to have her. What they didn't know was that she'd quit her job, running away from a male co-worker who'd been coming on too strong.Erik Gudjonsen was a videographer who came to Mountain View to do a piece about the place. He and Kathleen follow the path of all romance novel couples. They meet and clash, end up spending time together and fall in love, have sex and then tragedy strikes. Erik is badly injured in an accident and taken to a hospital where Kathleen sits, waiting for information when Mrs. Gudjonsen is shown directly into Erik's room. Unaware that this is his sister-in-law, and not bothering to ask, Kathleen flees without a word to anyone.She finds work far away, working for Seth Kirchoff of Kirchoff's Department Stores - a paraplegic with a sense of humor and a heart of gold. When she wants to quit her new job because she's found out she's pregnant, he asks her to marry him. They wed and Erik's son is raised as Seth's own, sharing with his "parents" a wonderful, happy life until one day, in a strange twist of fate, Seth hires a man to make commercials for the stores - and that man is Erik.Despite the ridiculousness of it, it's common in romance novels for people to meet and fall in love in under 48 hours, and certainly to wind up having sex. Especially when one of those people is a 25 year old virgin. If you've held onto your virginity that long, of course you're going to lose it to the first man to take you skinny dipping while you're supposed to be responsible for the well-being of a group of children. That's really not the worst of the book. The worst is that lines such as "The other young man had stood up in hopes of making a show of self-defense, but his belly was plowed into with an iron fist, and then, as he leaned over in agony, he, too, knew the rocketing pain of Erik's punch to his jaw." crop up, highlighting Brown's poor skills.The sex scenes are even more badly done than that, with some of the most incredibly stupid things coming out of the mouths of Brown's characters. "Oh, Erik, I can't believe that you're touching me this way." "Believe it." and "Sweet...!" he grated. "You've always been ready for me, Kathleen. Oh, God, I thought my memory had embellished how good it was with us, but it hadn't. If anything, my love, the memory was diluted." made me laugh out loud - and not in a good way. On page 88, Kathleen refers to Erik as "vital to her life" - after knowing him for THREE DAYS!Sadly, the story really IS good. Seth's unselfish handling of every aspect of his life, from his disability to raising Kathleen's son as his own, makes his final, most selfless act that much more touching. That Kathleen has a history of running away from problems makes Seth's suggestion of marriage more palatable - otherwise, it's impossible to believe that any two people would marry, love each other, and live sexlessly on separate floors of the same house. If Brown had just left out the really bad sex scenes and developed certain plot points better, I'd be happy to five star this. As it is, two's all I can do.- AnnaLovesBooks
I read this book on spring break in sixth grade, while my mom and Ann and I were on our way to Washington D.C. It was my mom's, from the library, and I ran out of books or got bored with mine or something. I decided to re-read it because, and this is a little embarassing, this book actually taught me about sex. Like, what it is. Prior to this, I thought that anytime two people were naked and in contact, they were having sex. Talk about eye-opening.Do not e fooled by this hardcover edition, y'all. This is genre romance, through and through. And also, it's pretty bad. Overuse of obscure words, virility as the ULTIMATE in sexy. I do like romance novels, but I realized when I was re-reading this that I pretty much can only tolerate historical romance novels, or I get stuck on the chauvinism and--well, not misogyny, but sexism, etc. Also, the hero here is freaking Magnum P.I. Well, he's not a detective, but he's got the hair and the mustache and the shades and th attitude, and it's so not sexy.
Do You like book The Silken Web (1993)?
Kisah Cinta yang mengharu biru. Kathleen Haley bekerja diperkemahan musim panas anak2 yatim piatu saat bertemu Erik Gudjonsen, seorang fotograper yg bertugas meliput perkemahan tersebut. Kedua nya saling tertarik yg menimbulkan benih cinta diantara mereka. Kecelakaan pesawat yg ditumpangi Erik mengubah kisah Kathleen. Saat Erik dirawat di RS seorang wanita muda mengaku sebagai Mrs. Gudjonsen. yang membuat Kathleen mengambil keputusan meninggalkan Erik yg dianggapnya mengkhianati cinta mereka. Setelah 2 thn berlalu mereka bertemu dalam kondisi yg berbeda. Kathlen menikah dengan Kirchoff. Di akhir cerita..Kathleen dituntut utk memilih.. apakah menerima kembali Erik atau bertahan dengan Kirchoff. Tapi ni novel bikin sedih..dibalik sad Ending ada happy endingnya..karena ternyata kirchof mengidap penyakit yg mengakibatkan dia meninggal dan meninggalkan begitu banyak warisan utk Kathlen dan Theron ( anak dari Erik ) yang akhirnya Erik dan Kathlen bersatu kembali karena cinta kirchoff.Wuih..buat penyuka harlequein...bolehlah nih dibaca bukunya...
—Wulan
Loved loved loved this story. I almost gave up reading after the first few chapters but I'm so glad I pushed through it. What started off as cheesy romance turned into such a compelling read that there was a point where I literally could not put the book down until I knew what was going to happen next. Kathleen's character actually irritated me for a while. It was irritating knowing that it was a tiny misunderstanding on her part that caused this whole drama to ensue and I just felt like smacking her every time she blamed Erik for what happened. There were still cheesy parts and unrealistic scenes. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the story as a whole. Very touching with a happy ending that somehow works out for everyone.
—Sarah
An oldish novel, but still has a lot going for it. I did find myself thinking "why didn't they just use a mobile phone " when people had problems keeping in touch, but of course not the norm then.It pretty much ended up how it was supposed to through there was a little twist at the end which had me blubbering (a bit).The basic story- a couple meet when they get thrown together at a summer camp, she is a councilor he a photographer/video maker. They have a reckless few days and get seperated (due to a misunderstanding).They meet up again a few years later and realise they are still in love/lust. The rest of the story is how they keep coming together and hurting each other until the end when eventually (in a convoluted fashion) end up together.
—comfort
