After a whirlwind courtship, Kern Lowery whisked his young bride away to the mountains of Tennessee to start a new life. Unfortunately, Trisha’s sheltered Grosse Pointe upbringing didn’t prepare her for marriage or the hardships of country living, so she left with barely a goodbye.
Five years later, an accident brings Trisha back to Tennessee. No longer the shy, helpless girl she was, she keeps her composure when she comes face-to-face with the stranger she is still technically married to. Inside, however, her emotions are a riot of passion—and fear. Fear of falling for the man she loves once again…
Trisha was a bit scared but completely enthralled with Kern Lowery when she first met him. He was intelligent and kind but definitely different from the young boys she knew at age 20 as he was older. When Kern talked about the mountain in Tennessee that he had inherited she was equally enthralled and the couple talked about their dreams and what exactly they thought they wanted – which was to live at that mountain and start a life together.
That was five years ago and not long after arriving in Tennessee Trisha gave it all up to return to her hometown. The isolation and hard work was difficult but she couldn’t quite handle her relationship with Kern and fled. Now she’s back in Tennessee with Kern’s mother, who has been her friends since Trisha married Kern. She’s not sure what she expects but she certainly didn’t expect it to be so beautiful and in no way frightening as it was five years prior. Trisha is also not prepared for the man that Kern has now become. The sexual tension and heat between them hasn’t diminished at all but Trisha is not ready to start anything with Kern as she plans on leaving for home as soon as she can. Trisha’s plans change when she starts to have feelings for Kern once again, or should I say, admitting to herself that she still has feelings for her husband.
This was, from what I understand, the very first book that Jennifer Greene got published back in 1984 under her pseudonym Jeanne Grant. (It’s being re-released through Carina Press on 5/30 under Jennifer Greene) I wasn’t sure what to expect from the story as I’ve not read any of Green’s work before but I love a good reunion trope and this one was a good one.
I can’t imagine how hard it was for Trisha to return to the place where she had given up. She’d given up on her dreams, on her man, her marriage. Those are difficult things to stare in the face but Trisha did, and I think she handled it all very well. Greene did a great job of putting the city woman into the rural yet lush setting and having her be comfortable. Greene also described the countryside quite vividly and I almost felt like I was there.
We got to see Kern and Trisha interacting and trying to become relaxed with each other once again but it was pretty tense between the two. The pair didn’t actually talk about anything too deep until near the end of the book and I must admit I would have liked to have seen that happen prior to when it did but in the end they both learned that communication was their biggest issue – as it is in so many relationships. Simply talking to each other can solve so many issues between a couple, it’s amazing really. I mean, we all talk to each other daily but really sitting down and discussing issues and how your feeling sometimes just solves a multitude of problems. This solved problems for Trisha and Kern and they got their HEA.
In the end it was a very cute book and I will definitely be reading more from Ms. Green.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Happy Friday!
Happy Friday Chris! 🙂