Customer Reviews

Never Too Late (MIRA)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Clare is separated from her cheating husband Roger. After catching him again, Clare drives away in a haze of anger and grief. Before she can get very far though, Clare gets into a near fatal car accident. After waking in the hospital, Clare decides to make a change and take her life back.

It starts with Sam Jankowski, the police officer who was there at the scene of the accident. Sam is about ten years younger than Clare. Then Pete Rayburn, a man from Clare's past enters her life again. Clare's ex husband Roger is still a fixture as well, and he's not bowing out gracefully. Clare's sisters Maggie and Sarah are a big presence in Clare's life. Now, Clare is attempting to start over surrounded by several gorgeous men, her loving and outgoing family, and her teenage son Jason. Clare is discovering that starting over is not as hard as she first thought.

Never too Late tells the story of Clare and her endearing sisters Maggie and Sarah. Their lives become entwined on many levels. I had to stop myself from flipping to the back of the book to see what would happen next. Sam is one of the most charming men have I ever read about, and Pete is just as terrific. Maggie is strong. Sarah is tenderhearted, and Clare is lovely. Never too Late is a bittersweet story about new beginnings. Along with the joy there is some heartache as well. Even though there are happily ever afters across the board, I still felt a little down at the end because of how the story plays out.

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

After catching her nearly ex-husband in bed with a leggy blonde, a traffic accident gives housewife Clare a new lease in life, as she decides to file for divorce from her perennially philandering husband Roger, contemplates a romance with a much younger cop, and decides to get reacquainted with Pete, the brother of her former fiance with whom she shares a past.

While recuperating, traffic cop Sam visits her in the hospital and makes his feelings known. When she's released, Clare rejoins the workforce as a teacher at the local high school. The only problem is that Pete is the football coach, and the principal, who seems familiar seems to have it in for her. Meanwhile, Roger tries desperately to get Clare to forgive him and give him one more chance, even going so far as to ruin her big date with Sam, who is obviously more serious about her than she is about him. And she is starting to look at Pete in a whole new light as they spend more time together.

A secondary romance for mousy sister Sarah, who trades in her severe wardrobe for more playful attire and make up presents itself when sensitive single dad Sam, who is very reluctant to get involved with another McCarthy sister, is suddenly on the market and Sarah decides to pursue him.

Bravo to Carr for penning an engrossing romantic drama. But with two fully-developed romances, a son with problems forgiving his father, and assorted family drama, it really it could have been two complete novels. There were certain aspects of the book that were not resolved, like the problems with the school principal - the storyline just disappeared. Despite the flaws, it is nice to read a mature and more realistic romance for a change.

Clare Wilson is at her wits end with her passive aggressive cheating husband and after finding him on his fortieth birthday with a bouncing blond on his lap knows it's time to kick his sorry butt to the curb.
But when a devastating car accident lands Clare in hospital, grueling physical therapy puts a damper on her grand plans of a speedy divorce and resurrecting her teaching career. However during her recovery Clare has men swarming for a chance to date her and at thirty nine she knows there is no time but the present to start putting her life right again, just at a slower pace than first planed.
Her ex Roger is pining, super sexy cop Sam is ten years Clare's junior but that doesn't stop him from sweeping her off her feet and Pete, an old high school flame is hinting at a second chance.
It seems being an independent single woman is a powerful aphrodisiac, a fact that Clare's younger sister Sarah hopes to tape into as well and since the death of the girls mother a decade before Sarah is about to take the world by storm. Carr proves that romance isn't only reserved for those twenty-something bombshell heroines, lust love and life can always come knocking for a second time.

Roby Carr has a gift for weaving such beautifully romantic and funny stories as we have seen in the fantastic Virgin River trilogy and we can experience this magic again this month with the re-release of the Grace Valley trilogy.

This book follows the personal lives of three sisters, Clare, Maggie, and Sarah. Maggie is married with children but has problems. Sarah is an accomplished artist and teacher but is missing having someone special in her life. Clare, the main character deals with divorce, an ex-lover, an adoring policeman that had saved her life and her son, Jason who is angry/saddened over his Father's behavior.

Ah, you say. This is an overdone storyline. I must admit that the thought crossed my mind as well. We are wrong. Robyn Carr the author, paints us a word picture that places us right in the midst of the story and after paragraph one, you are driving in the car with Clare and experiencing her emotions without realizing you are reading the book, unless it drops and hits you on your nose.

The three characters and others are three dimensional and so credible that I felt I had met them at one time or another. I found myself caring about them and their trials and celebrations.

I will eagerly seek out other titles of Robyn Carr with the knowledge that the books will be well crafted.

Robyn Carr's books - her single-title books in particular - are a mix of women's fiction, family drama and romance. This one was a little different in style to anything I've read from Carr before; I honestly don't know if I'd have picked her as the author if I hadn't known who wrote it.

This is not a fast-paced book, but then I guess you can figure that from the cover. It is also not focused on a particular relationship, but more on a group of people who eventually find their happy endings.
After finding her husband having sex with another woman on his fortieth birthday, Clare gets pulled over for speeding. The cop - Sam - is still behind her a few minutes later when her car is hit by an SUV and Clare is badly hurt. This incident grows to encompass Clare's whole family and some people from her past. The title - Never Too Late - gives you a good idea of what to expect from this story, for all of the characters involved.
Some of the things the characters go through are painfully realistic, sometimes even mortifying. I wanted to die when Clare had such a disastrous experience trying to return to teaching. High schoolers are evil creatures! Clare's two sisters have problems of their own, and the younger sister, Sarah, has a story that almost receives the same amount of page time as Clare's relationship.

Though this is not a straight romance, Carr's best writing is always seen in the romance parts of her books, and I don't think romance readers will be disappointed here. Of course the fact this is more of a women's fiction story means the characters are allowed more creative screw-ups and, ahem, indiscretions than you'll usually find in straight romance. I adored the two main male players - Sam and Pete (the brother of Clare's dead childhood sweetheart). Both men had to go through some bad and heartbreaking experiences. I would have been happy to have either man!

Robyn Carr is one of those writers who can make everyday things seem really interesting, and she writes great characters and dialogue. I could definitely have coped with a longer book for this tale, as there were five or six major characters who could have done good things with more page space.

On the negative side, the author's trademark head-jumping in her writing meant that while the focus of the beginning of this book was on Clare's life, towards the end she (and her relationship) just about disappeared from the pages. I didn't actually mind much, as I liked the direction the story took, but it is frustrating to become invested in one character's story and then end up reading about someone else entirely. Carr's guilty of this in many of her Virgin River books too.

Then towards the end it seemed she had a panic that she'd forgotten to include her all-time favourite theme: sexual health. We had a bizarre chapter where three characters made trips to the doctor for some super-personal reasons. We had a teenager who'd started having sex, a woman who was pregnant, and a man with some erectile dysfunction thing going on. It was weird and the teenager in particular completely unnecessary to the story, but thankfully was over fast so we could get back to the interesting stuff.

The end of Never Too Late had some echoes of Virgin River excitement, but other than that, this is a very different kind of book. What I liked best was how realistic everyone appeared to be, and the way people didn't always make the right choices from the outset. If more books in this genre held my attention the way this one did I'd be a happy camper.

Teacher Clare Wilson has been put out with her spouse Roger, but lately feels a bit sorry for him as he turns forty, struggling with the concept of aging. Their fourteen years old son Jason feels his mom is too easy on Roger, but she cannot help herself as that is her make-up. However, as always Roger finds a way to nuke her empathy as she once again catches him cheating this time in their bed not long after his latest plea for forgiveness. Clare plans to divorce him.

On her way home Clare is in a car accident. Police Officer Sam Jankowski gets help to her rather quickly. Sam visits Clare making it obvious he desires her. Also in her life is football coach Pete Rayburn who wants to score touchdowns with her. She likes both men, but remains wary of all males after Roger the dodger.

This is an interesting contemporary tale starring a likable thirty something heroine struggling with the fact that her spouse (soon to be ex) cannot stay zippered; their teenage son loathes his father; and the two new attentive men in her life. Clare keeps the solid relationship story line focused as she ponders what to do about the four males who currently have shaken her equilibrium. Robyn Carr writes a fine modern day relationship drama.

Harriet Klausner

I'm definitely a fan of Robyn Carr and will read anything she has written but, having said that, this is not one of her best efforts in my opinion. As always, Ms. Carr is worth reading but don't expect this to equal her Virgin River or Grace River series.

I loved this book! It was the first book I purchased for my Kindle and I am pleased. It did NOT disappoint. If you are not familiar with Robyn Carr's books, she is great at exploring relationships to the point that the reader feels like they know the people and weaving in a couple smaller storylines along with the main storyline.

I love Robyn Carr's Virgin River series. This book starts primarily as Clare's story, but it weaves in her sisters' stories. The book kept me pulled in which is a big thing for me. It is never a good sign if I am able to leave a book for an extended period of time.

Robyn Carr has become one of my all time favorite authors all of her books are so good and this one does not disappoint. I feel in love with all the characters.

I loved Clare and her whole family. Characters are so real. Very good book - couldn't put it down.