Customer Reviews

Another Man's Son (Stone, Katherine)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book started out well enough but it quickly lost me about half way through when there were too many storylines going on and not near enough time spent on what the book is supposed to be about according to the back cover. It states that 'within weeks' Sam has fallen in love with Kathleen. They didn't meet until 3/4 of the way through the book, on the night Ian died, and they were in love the next morning, not within weeks. I thought, for someone as frigid as Kathleen was, it was a bit unbelievable that she slept with Sam within an hour or two of meeting him and then I didn't know they had until I began reading the next chapter. I don't think the author spent near enough time on the issues of the two characters (Sam's abandonment of his father and Kathleens' loss of the man she loved) and apparently they were all settled within one conversation that was not near emotional or romantic. They knew each other less than a week at the end of the book (and most of that time was spent dealing with Natalie, James and Grant) and apparently, the author forgot to send the pages to the publisher where they discussed any future they might have together or even if they wanted one together. The subplot of Natalie and James was unnecessary and again, the author spent more time on their relationship, with insecure Natalie unsure of how James felt, than she did on Sam and Kathleen's. Grant's storyline was silly and if it was meant to throw a twist in the whole story, get me on the edge of my seat, it failed because nobody really cared about Grant, Christine, James or Natalie. I would have liked to have read a whole lot more about Sam and Kathleen and maybe their feelings for each other as they grew to know each other but it was never really touched on. The book jumped all over but never seemed to center on Kathleen and Sam. I wouldn't recommend it. It was boring and goofy. The only reason I gave it two stars was for the very beginning.

Years ago Seattle based philanthropist Ian Collier helps Kathleen Cahill by paying for her to attend college and medical school. Now a doctor, Kathleen wants a child and though friends Ian would like to sire her kid because years ago he lost the only child he ever had. Kathleen accepts his kind offer as she has great respect for Ian. He also asks her to marry him so their child can be raised with two parents though he expects their relationship to remain friendly and platonic. She loves his loyalty, but tells him it is unnecessary. He says he cares for her too much so he must help her any way he can, but Ian dies not long afterward.

As he nears forty, wanderer Sam Collier settles down near Medford, Oregon buying Sarah's orchard, a place where apples grow. When he learns that the man who sired him, but deserted him over three decades ago, died, Sam goes to Seattle to settle the estate. Sam hates Ian and wants to detest Kathleen, but instead falls in love with her. As she reciprocates his feelings, she informs him that she is pregnant, but the father could be his father not him.

This is an engaging family drama that borders on the rim of soap opera, but Katherine Stone keeps her cast consistent and loaded with doubts and that make for a deep character study. Ms. Stone furbishes a deep look at fractured relationships in which love is not enough to heal childhood wounds that remain bleeding as adults. Fans of contemporary tales starring protagonists whose respective hearts of stones are chipped away will want to read this compelling novel.

Harriet Klausner

This is the story of karma.

As another reviewer wrote, it is also a story that is not so easily followed. Scratch that. It isn't hard to follow, but there are so many "wait, isn't that the same guy who..." moments that the reader finds herself wanting to start again to make sure she's missed nothing.

The only issue I truly have with this book is that it is wrapped up too quickly. Relationships progress too easily in the end, and side plots and motivations are almost viciously cut off.

Still, though, I found the levels of love demonstrated in this book to be amazing. A very interesting concept for a book.

(*)>

There were parts of this book like Sam's relationship with his adorable puppy that I absolutely adored but I wanted to witness more of Holly turning from a scared, timid little girl into a bouncing, mischievous puppy. I also admired Kathleen for overcoming severe hardships on her road to becoming a top-notch physician. However, she remained so cold and distant that I couldn't really warm to her. Also, her getting over Ian and her relationship with Sam just went so fast that it was totally unreal. In short, the characters and relationships that I liked were terribly underdeveloped leaving me dissatisfied.

There were also parts of the book that I absolutely detested. I HATE IT when an author kills off a main character in order to make room for another main character. If Stone wanted Sam and Kathleen to end up together, why couldn't she have kept Kathleen's relationship with Ian platonic but allowed him to live? After years of grieving the loss of "his" son, Ian should have been given a joyful reunion with that son.

Also, after the terrible childhood Sam had with his lying witch of a mother and the man who thought he was his stepfather, I really wanted to see him finally reunited with the man who loved him as a father should love a child and I had some major dissatisfaction with the lack of a confrontation between Sam and his mother.

I was also disappointed that Tyler remained just a shadow figure. We are told that he ends up acting as a brother to Sam, though there is no proof of that in the storyline, but how did he react when he learned of his mother duplicity? And how did Mason react when he learned that Sam was his biological son and was not, as his wife had told him, the grandson of a killer. And how realistic is it that even the most wicked stepfather would want his child kept away from another child because child number two was the grandchild of a murderer? If this is getting convoluted, you should understand that this book gets convoluted also.

I was hoping to see both Tyler and Mason confront Vanessa. Perhaps I am blood thirsty, but I really, really, really wanted to see a serious "come-to-Jesus meeting" between Vanessa and all the people she had so terribly damaged by her deceit. It really grated on me that she was apparently able to tear the family apart with her lies and yet end up free of suffering any consequences.

Bottom line, I can tolerate the good guys suffering some severe hardships if they end up winning in the end and I want the bad guy to get his just desserts. Stone did see that Grant got his just desserts but even though he was a serial killer and he murdered the mother of a main character, he was such a non-entity in the story that when he got killed I didn't really care! Perhaps it is childish to want the story to turn out "and they lived happily ever after" but, hello! I read for enjoyment and I don't enjoy seeing the good guys die and the bad guys not suffer as the result of their actions.

I think Stone missed the mark on this one and that is unfortunate because the basic premise was sheer brilliance and the book could have been the same.

I ordered a Book through Amazon from Royce Books, was billed, and the shipment never came as promised. I cannot get any responses for vendor as to the status of the order.

The synopsis tells us Ian Collier will die. What it fails to tell us is that Ian is the main character throughout 3/4 of the book. Then Ian has his accident and we think this is it, but because this is Dr. Katherine Stone, there is medical history, a few hospital press conferences, things like that, and after so many pages of this I honestly thought Ian was going to live after all but...well, the synopsis.

It's understandable that Kathleen wasn't IN love with Ian. We can't force love. I don't think there was anything wrong with her "not being a woman" just because she didn't want to sleep with him. All she needed to do was meet the right guy, which she did in Sam Collier. Admittedly, she and Sam falling in love that quickly probably set some sort of record for the fastest time ever. So in that respect, the story wasn't believable.

James and Natalie were fine and I liked the way he handled the situation when Natalie decided to confess to him that she used to be very promiscuous. His reaction probably wasn't realistic either, but what the heck. It made James a better man in my eyes.

KS novels can be really maudlin at times but thank goodness this one didn't completely fall into that trap. This book will hold your attention until the very end, no problem there. And KS has a great knack for writing authentic scenes where the reader feels they are part of the story. Case in point: early on when Ian was at the school and he walked across that hall to see Kathleen I felt like I was walking right beside him. KS is a master at this.

Summary of Characters: Ian is separated from his baby boy (Sam) when Sam is a very young age. He throws himself into professional skiing and when he is injured he starts up a skiing gear company and makes a ton of money. He starts giving scholarships to high schoolers for full rides to college. One of the high schoolers he sponsors is Kathleen. Ian and Kathleen have a very long platonic relationship which ends in them attempting marriage. Meanwhile, Ian has been investigating Kathleen's mother's murder on the side for her and has made friends with the prosecutor James. James is engaged to Christine, and they ask Natalie (a realtor) to find them a house. James is best friends with a man named Grant. (I can't mention anything else for fear of ruining the book!)

Praise: I really enjoyed this book. It was an emotional journey throughout the book and it spanned several pairs of characters, making it very interesting and engaging. I enjoyed all the pairs of characters. I also enjoyed that the romance was not smutty, and instead the author focused on the feelings of the characters.

Criticisms: I didn't enjoy how the summary on the back of the book gave away nearly all the secrets, and made it seem as if the meat of the story would be one thing, and yet in truth the meat of the story involved actions long before that moment, and only briefly related to the moment described on the book cover. I also didn't enjoy the mystery aspect of the book as much as I would like, and the romance was awful quick.

All in all, it was pleasant and enjoyable and I would recommend picking it up at a garage sale.


Scale:

5 - Buy this, and buy it now. - I love this book.
4 - Find this at a garage sale or half-price bookstore. - I really like this book.
3 - Coerce a friend into buying it for you. - I like this book.
2 - Ennnh, maybe. - Okay.
1 - Don't bother reading this. - I didn't like it.

As this book was never sent to me or received by me, I cannot write an accurate review. I am disappointed too because I cannot find this book at my local book store and really wanted to read it. I love Katherine Stone and have read several books by her. She's a great author. Perhaps one day I will be able to read the book..........