Judith’s review of A Slower, Lower Life 
When two worlds collide, Being the oldest of eight has never been easy for Kurt Delaney, but the pressure he’s put on himself far exceeds anything anyone else inflicts on him. Known as the family stick in the mud, Kurt’s pushing forty and with the heirship to the family farm hanging in the balance, he finds his hopes of a married life with children swirling down the drain. Honor and family are everything to Kurt and a mate that doesn’t hold those same things as dear as he does is completely unacceptable.
Deidre Maloney is city born and bred. In the absence of her botanist parents, she was raised by a nanny and knows nothing of the love of a family or how being married works. Commitment isn’t a word in Deidre’s vocabulary. Only concerned with finding a new job and having a fling, she embarks on a trip from Chicago to Seaford, Delaware to see her best friend Cait marry her high school sweetheart. Being attracted to a Delaney brother wasn’t on Deidre’s carefully planned itinerary. the aftermath is all that matters…
With so many differences between he and Deidre, Kurt can’t believe he’s let himself fall for such a woman. She’s looking for a prime rib guy and Kurt knows he’s just skirt steak. When they’re in close proximity, however, something undeniably amazing happens. How does he convince her that family isn’t something to fear and love doesn’t hurt? How does Kurt show Deidre that a slower, lower life is what she’s been looking for all along?
I had the privilege of reading and reviewing Ms Munro’s earlier book, A Slower, Lower Love, in which the two main characters in this book were introduced. While reading that story, it was hard to realize that Kurt Delaney was the brother that was being left out in the cold, even though he had “stepped up to the plate” and tried to soothe the hurt of his soon-to-be sister-in-law when his younger brother had just simply disappeared. Now he has come to a place in his life that he has, for all intent and purpose, given up hope of finding his own “happily ever after” and has pretty much decided to accept his bachelor status. Enter Diedre, a woman he met briefly some months ago and who has now come to Delaware to be Cait’s maid of honor. As best man, Kurt is “stuck” squiring her to all the family events and such before the wedding, and in fact, finds out that the only place for her to stay is in his guest room. ( We find out later in the book that this is an intentional sort of “matchmaking” ploy on the part of his mother and some of his other female relatives.) Not really able to change the arrangements, Kurt decides that he can handle his close proximity to Dierdre and keep his heart and emotions intact.
Now Deirdre is a city girl–raised by well-to-do world-class scientists, and because of her own career, used to living with the better things in life. That fact alone is enough to convince Kurt that she could never have anything long-term to interest him. In fact, this matches Deirdre’s own opinion about any kind of connection with Kurt–a fling might be nice, but anything more just wouldn’t fit into her life and career plans. Yet she is lonely and so very unhappy in her Chicago job, her high-rise apartment is cold and impersonal, and she misses her friends. Not having had any family togetherness–her parents left her with a nanny more often than not–her friends are just about the only people who have any access to her life, and living in Chicago essentially separates her from them.
This story is really about a clash in cultures. The Delaney Clan is a boistrous, live-life-to-the-fullest kind of family that embraces strangers easily but finds betrayal hard to forgive. Deirdre is well and truly one of them as Cait’s best friend, but any hope of retaining their good will would melt away like an ice cube on the equator if she were to hurt Kurt in any way. There is deep kindness embedded in the character and personalities of each family member. They recognize the attraction between Deirdre and Kurt before either of these lovers do. They also recognize Deirdre’s deep hunger for a circle of loving people who are hers, who care about her, who have her best interests at heart, and who see her for who she is. There is a wonderful sense of hope throughout this story. A reader like me hopes like heck that Kurt can find someone who will answer his deep longings for a life partner, one who will understand what makes him tick and will accept his small town ways and his need to be “there” for his family.
It was very satisfying to work through Deirdre and Kurt’s developing relationship, to watch as they became more aware of one another on many levels, to watch Deirdre’s anxiety over the huge number of Kurt’s relatives gradually fade while seeing how she was able to help Kurt get past his almost obsessive need to keep the family business “running.” As Deirdre became more important and actually demanded more of his attention, he had no alternative but to allow his younger siblings to take more of the family responsibilities. And the funny thing is, that is exactly what his younger brothers wanted to do.
Ms Munro once again makes a compelling case for living in the slow lane of this quiet Eastern seaboard town in Delaware. Held up beside and over against the frantic rush of city living, this way of living and relating gave Deirdre an opportunity to slow down, relax, and come face to face with what she honestly longed for and had never allowed herself to either feel or have. Kurt’s quiet but persistent understanding gave her the foundation upon which to build a life that far less frantic while fulfilling her inner longings for family and belonging. This novel honestly explores the difficulties many have when trying to “downsize” their lives or change the pace of their lives. My own experience when moving from Northern California to a small town in Idaho in the early 70’s was an eye-opener and for the first year or so, was a very difficult transition. Eventually, my entire family came to appreciate the “slower, lower life” that we were able to live. It has always been a cherished memory. It was a time and locality we left behind reluctantly.
This is another fine addition to Ms Munro’s writing accomplishments and while not overly erotic, is certainly romantic to the full. It is one of those books that caused me to experience a deep sigh of satisfaction when I reached the final sentence. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5.
The Series:
You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place
This book is available from Rebel Ink Press. You can buy it here
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