Customer Reviews

The Object of Love

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THE OBJECT OF LOVE is the story of two improbable lovers with an unthinkable future together. Lacey is a black, single mother whose son recently died. Sean is a white man, young enough to be her son.

Despite the seemingly extreme difference in their backgrounds, author Sharon Cullars writes a story that shows the reader that Lacey and Sean are meant to be together. I especially liked Sean and found myself holding my breath as I turned each page to read what would happen to him. A compelling and impressive young man, I started rooting for him, wanting everything to end well for him.

As a ghost who can't move on to the next realm until he finds redemption, I found Calvin's character very intriguing. His actions and personality brought out all kinds of emotions in me.

THE OBJECT OF LOVE will captivate you till the last page.

Fafa Demasio

Lacey Burnham is devastated when her twenty-one-year-old son Calvin is killed in a car accident. She thinks she's handling things well, until she collapses in grief at the cemetery. When she looks up, she sees her son's former best friend, Sean Logan. He helps her into her car, and then shows up later at her house to offer his condolences.

Sean Logan has always had a thing for Lacey Burnham. But he's hidden it. When she invites him to stay at her house, he accepts. When things get heated between them, they discover that Calvin's spirit hasn't moved on yet and he's not very happy about the things that are happening between his mother and Sean.

Lacey tries to fight what she is feeling, but when she discovers that she can't, she finds out things that make the situation much more difficult. It seems Calvin and Sean were hiding a secret. A secret from the past that broke up their friendship, and is now intruding on present day life.

Let me start this review by saying that I did not want to read this book. It was sent to me by oh Joyous one, and when I opened my package and read the blurb, I thought "yuck".

Having said that, I have to tell you that I absolutely loved The Object of Love. I loved each word, each feeling, each character and each tiny detail of the story. I wasn't two pages into it before I realized that this was a beautifully written, wonderfully crafted tale that delved into the lives of the characters so completely that I felt as if I were watching a movie.

I devoured each word of this story and, truthfully, will probably do so again in the future. I loved Lacey, I loved Sean, and I loved them as a couple. I loved Calvin and the way he was dealing with his death. The ending of the story left me wonderfully sated and feeling complete. Ms. Cullars has a new fan. I can't wait to read more of her work.

I take great pleasure in realizing that you can't judge a book by its blurb, and Joyfully Recommending The Object of Love to lovers of romance. It will leave you feeling warm and wonderful.

Amelia

Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Calvin Burnham dies in a car crash, but his transgressions when he lived fill him with guilt and thus he is unable to cross over. Adding to his feelings of failure and keeping anchored in a self made purgatory is watching his mother Lacey mourn his death.

Also grieving Calvin's sudden demise is his former best friend Sean Logan. Lacey allows Sean to stay with her for now as she used to when he and Calvin were teenage buddies. However, that innocent arrangement takes a spin as desire and love grow between them although Sean feels guilty for hiding a nasty truth about him from her. Outraged that his friend and his mother are falling in love and filled with jealous resentment including the fact they live, Calvin vows to stop this "unnatural" at least in mind pairing by destroying Sean.

This is a terrific paranormal romantic suspense thriller starring three strong characters in a weird triangle relationship. The story line is fast-paced right out of the chute and never slows down as Sean's past comes back to haunt him and his beloved. Ghost romance readers will gain immense pleasure from Sharon Cullers' strong tale.

Harriet Klausner

Well, this book certainly fits that adage.

I don't remember what it was that landed this book on My Recommended List and I admit that it was the beefcake cover that made me go [click]!

Because yes, I *am* that shallow that I am not averse to clicking on a nice pic of manly chest. But still, I rarely buy books with this type of cover and I'd never bought a book from the Brava line.

But the description of the story and the reviews found here, I decided to chance it and boy am I ever glad I did.

Lacey Burnham is an attractive woman who has been longtime widowed and not looking for a replacement. She has a house, a family and a career. She's also just lost her only son, Calvin, to a car accident.

The story opens at the son's funeral and it is there that she encounters her son's childhood friend, Sean Logan, who left town suddenly and with a mysterious rift that the friends never repaired. It is a rift that will extend into the supernatural as the two unlikely lovers (as the book's back cover aptly describes) drift towards each other and the recently departed son has something to say about it.

There are several things that I appreciated about this book: 1) Lacey is not superwoman. She has real flaws that I could relate to without getting annoyed with her so I could understand why she does what she does. 2) Sean Logan is a hero who is young but not immature; likable but not unnaturally charming; strong but not unrealistically so. 3) Calvin and his struggle and the real tension that his role brings to the storyline. 4) That while this is an interracial story, more attention was given to the age gap which felt right given the history of the characters.

This isn't a perfect story. I do wish more time had been given to develop Lacey and Sean's relationship. The backstory of Sean and his family could also have been developed a little more as well.

But even with its imperfections, the story held my attention from start to finish and while I wished for more development on the above, that was more due to the success of the writer making me care about the characters and wanting to get to know them better.

I definitely recommend this book as a buy. As stated in the beginning, I normally don't buy books with this kind of cover and I'd never bought a book from the Brava line, but because of this book, I'm going to think twice because this book reminded me, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this one. This book details a boyhood crush by Sean for Lacey. The crush morphs into true love between a 21-year-old white male and a 42-year-old black woman, who also happens to be the mother of Sean's childhood best friend. During the course of the book you learn that "secrets" will always be revealed and that death is not necessarily the end of the journey. Although the ending is a bit improbable, I still enjoyed the read.

I was initially interested in the story about a 22 year old man Sean falling in love with a 42 year old woman Lacey. She was his best friend's mother and he had loved her since he was about 10 years old. His friend Calvin dies and Sean returns to town for the funeral. Sean and Lacey become lovers.

CAUTION SPOILERS: I did not like Lacey because each time she had sex with Sean, she pretty much told him to get out of her life, sadly he would try to leave. Events kept bringing them together. Now as a ghost, Calvin can communicate with his mother Lacey by writing notes. Calvin the ghost hates Sean and tells Lacey that Sean committed murder (which was a lie) and where the body is buried. Lacey believes her son/ghost and tells the police, and Sean ends up in jail. Lacey's justification was thinking that solving the murder would set Calvin's soul free and he wouldn't be haunting her house anymore.

I liked Sean, but this story boils down to Sean being victimized by almost everyone. As a boy, his father beat him. Calvin hates Sean and lies to Lacey about Sean being a murderer. Sean loves Lacey but she is cruel to him and stupidly started the process that caused him to go to jail. In jail Sean is victimized by another prisoner. Cheryl is mad at Sean for unrequited love, and lies to the police telling them Sean had motive for killing the person. There was no one to like in this book except Sean, but I was frustrated with his making poor choices as a teen. First of all there were two teenage boys being attacked by a drunk man with no weapon. I think they could easily have defended themselves without Calvin getting a gun. Calvin shot the man, then Sean helped cover up the murder and dropped out of school. At that time even Sean's mother gave him bad advice, by agreeing with the coverup of the murder, his dropping out of school and his leaving town.

For those readers who might still be interested in this book, I have not given away the ending and I have not given away a few other items. I did not enjoy reading this book. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day Oak Park, Illinois. Genre: mystery romance.

A great love story with great supernatural appeal. I often have trouble understanding Sharon Cullar's novels because they are so woven in mystery. I had no idea of the secret being hidden by Sean and the deceased Calvin. There ended up being alot of secrets, but you are not left hanging because they are resolved. Sharon added another element to her story besides it being an interracial story, there was the age difference. I really enjoyed the way Sean looked at Lacey and made her feel every bit of the beautiful woman she was. It is always a double standard when it comes to Older men and Younger women/ Older women and Younger men. I am glad to see one author giving a story that sees the good and bad of a Younger Man and an Older Woman.

Hot sex scenes and a secret that puts life into perspective!

i recently started reading IR romances and i really liked this story but the cover was very misleading. other reveiwers have mentioned that so its not just me. the cover makes you think this is more lighthearted than it is. don't get me wrong dude on the cover is f-i-n-e but the little grin gives the wrong information about the story. i liked the suspence element of this book and the fact that it was a may-december story.

Certainly can't judge a book by its cover. This story had lots twists suspense and was definaely a page turner. My husband is not a romance reader but this is one book I will reccomend to him because the storyline is so captivting, with many unexpected suspensful moments that I think anyone would enjoy it. The cover does not do justice to the book. Many people may feel embarrased to read it in public because of the provacative cover, My husband included, but use a book jacket if you must. Its definately worth it. Great Job Ms Cullars. I look forward to other good work from you

This book has now become my favorite romantic reads, I/R or otherwise.

Sean Logan is back in town for the funeral of his ex-best friend Calvin Burnham. He and Calvin parted badly five years prior and he has not seen him since.

Lacey Burnham is devastated at the death of her son, Calvin. What she did not plan on was seeing Sean Logan again. She last saw him when he was 17 years old. In the ensuing years her son never wanted to talk about him.

Calvin Burnham knows he is dead, what he can't figure out is why he has not "moved on", Heaven or the other place, but why is he back in his mother's house?

So beings the tale The Object of Love.

Sean wants Lacey, he has wanted her since he was 15, and now he is a man of 22 years and the crush phase is over.

Lacey sees Sean for the man he has become, but there is no way she can give in to her desire for him. It would just be wrong! Right?

What she doesn't count on is Sean's passion, his single-mindedness and her desire for him. She doesn't count on his penetrating stares and her desire to feel him next to her.

What neither one of them count on his Calvin's malevolence, his desire to stop both of them from being together. And where that hatred leads them is both daunting and passionate.

I loved reading this book, even with the para-normal story line weaving itself though the tale. Ms. Terry is an able waever and does a great job telling the story of the three main characters. She further carries her tale along with a host of fleshed out characters such as Lacey's mother and uncle along with Sean's mother.

She makes Sean and Lacey believable. He for his passion and commitment to Lacey and she for her honesty in admitting she wants him, but also wants to help her son find his final resting place.

The story finds a satisfying resolution with the reader finding out what it was that came between the two friends and why Sean is so reticent to talk about Calvin, and why Calvin hates Sean so much.

You will want to devour this book. Don't. Read it slow and savor all the good bits over and over and over again. And if Ms. Terry's next read, Just like Candy, due in December, is anything like this one, she will be my new reigning queen of romance.

Happy reading.