Judith’s review of Time for Love (The McCarthy’s of Gansett Island #9) by Marie Force

Dr. David Lawrence has spent the last two years atoning for his sins and recovering from the devastating breakup with Gansett Island golden girl Janey McCarthy. As the island’s only doctor, he’s had ample opportunity to show his fellow island residents that there’s more to him than the guy who disappointed Janey so profoundly. Now if only he could find a way to forgive himself, he might be able to move on with his life without the woman he’d expected to love forever…

Daisy Babson, probationary director of housekeeping at McCarthy’s Gansett Island Inn, is in bad need of a fresh start after her relationship with Truck Henry took a violent turn, leaving her battered and broken—in more ways than one. As she recovers from her injuries, her days are made brighter by her visits with David Lawrence. The kind and caring doctor who tended to her after the attack has become much more than a friend to her in recent weeks.

Will these two wounded hearts take comfort from one another and move forward on a new path toward love together? Or will ghosts from the past derail them before they get the chance for their own happily ever after?

Little did I realize eight books ago that I would still be hooked on these McCarthy’s of Gansett Island, a fictional location that bears a remarkable resemblance to the author’s growing up experiences with one of the islands off the East Coast of Rhode Island.  Readers have been introduced to all the immediate family and their discoveries of love and the stabilizing forces of commitment within stable love relationships.  Now the author is bringing in stories that feature characters who made their first appearances in earlier books and whose more in-depth experiences are featured.

Here we meet Dr. David Lawrence, a young physician who always intended to return to Gansett Island after med school and finishing his residency.  He fully intended to marry Janey McCarthy, the only daughter in the McCarthy Clan and whose heart he broke with his infidelity.  Now he has spent two years trying to reclaim his life, put his own hurting and wounded heart and soul back together, trying to reclaim a sense of himself apart from the future he once envisioned and which is no longer possible.  He’s had to find a way to live with the hurt he has caused while hoping he can rebuild some level of trust with the people who have been the warp and woof of his life from the beginning.

Perhaps the once thing that David has realized during these difficult two years is that he can be a man that sees others with compassion and caring and a willingness to be a friend.  Add in the fact that he has faced his own selfishness and the hurt that has caused.  In all the ways that count, David is a changed man.  Now he can see the hurt in others far more clearly and that is not only making him a better person but it is making him a better doctor.  Perhaps now–in this critical time in his life–David can recognize the value in a woman like Daisy, a woman he quite possibly would have never “seen” before the cataclysmic changes in his own life.  Now he recognizes her giving heart, her deep wounds of soul and spirit, and her disillusionment with people.  It all reminds him of some of the issues he is facing in his own life.

Marie Force seems to be one of those authors who has her finger on the pulse of human reality, one who can tell a story that resonates with readers because it embraces human experience in a way that carries the stamp of authenticity.  The people in her story are genuine with all their bumps and bruises, their joys and their foibles, their celebrations and disappointments, their energy and their fatigue.  They get to us because they sound like us so often.  The relationship between David and Daisy may seem unlikely, but somehow their careful and tentative encounters, begun when David was tending Daisy’s terrible injuries at the hand of her boyfriend, compel the reader to look deeper into one’s own heart, to ask how each of us would respond to such a situation and question whether or not we would be able to look beyond the obvious foolishness of this woman in even getting involved with this mean and abusive man.  Yet I, for one, have dealt with people such as Daisy and know the patience and caring it took for David to keep encouraging her, helping her to look beyond her insecurities, and building within her a sense of her intrinsic worth.

I have to say right out that I loved this novel and was delighted when it was released.  I have looked forward to all the books in this series, and even though some readers may tire of such a long series, I have not.  Again, I think it is because I “recognize” so many of these characters as being able to remind me of people I have known in real life.  Thus, there is a very strong sense of connection with these stories.  This novel is truly one of those “feel good” kinds of stories that will engage the emotions as well as entertain the mind.  Don’t get me wrong.  There are real ups and downs here, crises and all the mayhem that go with them, as well as dealing with residual issues left over from a family tragedy that is a part of a previous novel.  However, as each of these books stands alone, it won’t be difficult for anyone beginning with this ninth book in the series to “catch up” sufficiently to appreciate the story as well as catch a glimpse of past happenings.

I highly recommend this novel and hope that those who love the warm and fuzzy romance and the push/pull of family and a close-knit society will take the time to read, enjoy, and possibly savor the really good writing that has brought us another fine romance offering.

I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5

The Series:

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This title is available from HTJB, Inc.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.