Always in My Heart [Hardcover]

Catherine Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002

Ellie and Tucker Grant used to be in love. But years after the accidental death of their eldest son, the fated divorce, and their gradual transition into very separate lives, Ellie and Tucker are now practically strangers. It's a situation that their two young sons refuse to accept. Convinced that their parents are still meant to be together, the brothers hatch a plan to run away from home into the wilderness. Surely, Ellie and Tucker will come to the rescue-and to their senses.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anderson's newest contemporary romance (after Sweet Nothings) is a maudlin, predictable story that could have been told in half the time it takes here. After their third son dies in a motorcycle accident, Ellie and Tucker Grant drive each other away. Now their surviving sons, Zach and Kody, have run away to an Oregon wilderness area in a last-ditch effort to reunite their grieving parents, who foolishly decide to track them instead of calling in assistance. Ellie and Tucker's reunion is mildly complicated by the presence of new dates (though both are so unpalatable, it's impossible to see why they were attracted to them in the first place); the real obstacle to their relationship, however, is the guilt and recriminations that hang between them. As the situation grows more dire, the author begins inserting clumsy references to God, but parents ultimately find children in a climax that borrows liberally from both Lassie and MacGyver. Throughout the book, Anderson struggles to sustain some kind of tension between her protagonists by frequently dragging their conversation back to the tragedy, but her efforts only end up making Ellie and Tucker seem hateful. With charmless characters, awkward prose and enough guilt to send even the reader into therapy, this derivative effort fails to live up to Anderson's previous books.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Ellie and Tucker Grant have adjusted nicely to their divorce and are enjoying their separate lives. Or so they say. Their two teenage sons, however, think that their parents are still in love, and they decide to do something about it. But their plan to force a reconciliation by running away to the Baxter Wilderness Area in Oregon has unintended results, and although everything does eventually work out, it doesn't happen easily. Emotionally involving, family-centered, and relationship oriented, this story is a rewarding read and should strike a chord with parents, divorced or not. Anderson (Sweet Nothings) is a noted author of heartwarming, historical romances; this is one of her recent contemporaries.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: San Val (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417714328
• ISBN-13: 978-1417714322
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,151,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Catherine Anderson lives in the pristine woodlands of Central Oregon.

She is married to her high
school sweetheart, Sid, and is the author of more than twenty bestselling and award-winning historical and contemporary romances.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite of Anderson's...bit still a good read., August 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Always in My Heart (Mass Market Paperback)

I absolutely love Catherine Anderson and although this will not be among my favorites of hers, it was still a good read, with strong characters. Tucker and Ellie Grant divorced after the death of their oldest son, whom each felt guilt and blame over the tragic accident that killed him. 3 years later, the two remaining sons, run away into the mountains refusing to come back until their parents get back together, forcing Tucker and Ellie to spend time together tracking the boys to the place where they used to camp as a family. All along the way, they fight their old feelings, and discover some unknown truths about each other and thier family.....This story has some highly emotional moments which is the strength of the book. Usually, I re-read all of Anderson's books at least once, but for some reason, this one didn't pack the punch for me that her other stories have in the past. Still a good read, and one that I would recommend.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, August 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Always in My Heart (Mass Market Paperback)

I rarely review books, but could not let the opportunity pass to comment on "Always in My Heart". I read this book prior to reading any other reviews, and was surprised by the critical editorial review listed above.

This is an excellent book with very well developed characters. Yes, a lot of the book is discussing the emotions of the main charachters, but that is what sets this book apart from many others.

If you enjoy a book with more depth than "fluff", this is an excellent book to read. This was my first Catherine Anderson novel and since I have purchased several of her previous books.

Enjoy!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Would have been better if shorter, February 13, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Always in My Heart (Mass Market Paperback)

Ellie and Tucker Grant had a marriage made in Heaven. Both are each other's first love, having been together since they were teenagers, and marry soon after. But the devastating loss of their eldest son rips a barrier in their relationship, and in the end, Tucker leaves and they divorce. No longer able to deal with the memories, Ellie sells the family home and moves a few hours away, taking their two sons with her.

Three years later, while the boys are staying with their father, she gets a call from Tucker, and finds that the boys have run away to the mountains of Oregon and will only come back if the parents work out the kinks in their relationship so they can be a family again.

When each parent brings a "significant other," the boys resort to "Parent Trap" antics to get rid of the superfluous adults. Stuck alone, Ellie and Tucker must rely on each other to find their children and bring them back to safety without killing each other in the process. As they spend time together, they finally realize that the lack of communication after Sammy's death took its toll on the whole family, and they are being offered a second chance to be a family again.

While a great premise, the story is very slow, with far too many long passages of dialog between the parents. How many times can they have the same conversation? And the dialog does not ring true, particularly for Tucker - it is so syrupy, that it's hard to reconcile such a macho man making constant poetic declarations of love. It is fraught with emotion that will bring tears to your eyes, but could easily have been trimmed by about 150 pages and been more compact and believable.