Customer Reviews

The Prodigal's Return (Harlequin Super Romance)

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Eight years ago, when Rivermist, Georgia teenager Neal Cain began serving his sentence for the manslaughter death of his best friend, Bobby Compton, he left behind a bewildered girlfriend and two devastated parents. Now, Atlanta's most successful advocate for those too poor for legal representation, Neal has a new life, away from Rivermist and the ghosts of his past. But the news of his estranged father's mysterious illness forces Neal to return to his hometown and to the people he left behind.

Jennifer Gardner's perfect teenage life ended the night that Bobby Compton died. Cut out of Neal's life and left to the derision of a disapproving community, Jennifer's out of control escapades eight years ago left her with a bad reputation and a baby on the way. Now, eight years later, the former teenaged runaway is back, and through hard work and discipline she's made a life for herself and daughter Mandy. Working hard to repair a strained relationship with her ailing father, she's even taken a hand in running the youth group in her father's church.

When a chance encounter leads to an emotional meeting between these two returned prodigals, they find themselves just as drawn to one another as they were all those years ago. And as they work together to help Neal's dying father, Jenn must make the hard choice between giving in to her heart's desire and protecting herself from further heartbreak.

With this spotlight on life in a small southern town, Anna DeStefano manages the difficult task of juggling angst, humor and everything in between with graceful aplomb. A romance through and through, this is as much a book about parent/child relationships as it is about Jenn and Neal. There are a few places where politics get in the way of plot, but these are fleeting and do serve to reinforce the complexity of the issues DeStefano wrestles with. Add memorable secondary characters and an interesting sub-plot, and The Prodigal's Return becomes, at its core, a heartening story of the love that binds sweethearts, families and small towns together.

Armchair Interviews says: A sweet story placed in small Southern town.

THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN by Anna DeStefano
July 15, 2006

Rating **** (4 stars)

The various relationships in THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN kept this story moving fast and will keep the reader interested until the very end. The story revolves around the death of teenager Bobby Compton, who was killed by fellow classmate Neal Cain, both of whom were in love with the same girl. Neal pled guilty against his father's wishes, and was sent to prison to serve a jail sentence of eight years. Neal refused all contact from the girl he loved, Jennifer (Jenn) Gardner, and his father Nathan turned his back on Neal. Subsequently, Jennifer's life turned into a nightmare, running with the wrong crowd and over-indulging in sex and booze. The result was her precious daughter Mandy.

It is eight years later. It is a coincidence that both Neal and Jennifer return home after only bad memories remain for either of them, including their estranged fathers. Upon her return, Jennifer learns that Nathan Cain, who was once a very wealthy and successful lawyer, is now a drunken old man who looks as if he's living on the streets. His home is falling apart and it is obvious Nathan has given up. When Jennifer finds out that Neal has returned, her main concern is Nathan, and she does her best to convince Neal to connect again with his father, who is now alone and is shunned by the town.

Ever since the birth of her daughter Mandy, Jennifer had turned her own life around to become the type of person that would help anyone who needed it. But what she doesn't realize is that she's been pretending that her own problems don't exist by dealing with everyone else's problems first. Neal has also taken the same route, becoming a social advocate for the poor and needy, neglecting his own issues.

A subplot involving a young pregnant teenager reminds Jennifer of her struggles when she too had been a pregnant teen, with no love or support from her family. Jennifer tries to ensure that history does not repeat itself, and does her best, with the help of Nathan, to guide Traci to do the right thing.

The reader will feel very connected to the characters in THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN. There are several very intense relationships intermingling in this story, with people who have a lot of issues that need to be dealt with because of one single action that took place eight years ago. One of the most central characters is not part of a love interest, but that of the elderly Nathan Cain. The reader will enjoy getting to know him, a man who was once the most successful and wealthiest person in the small town of Rivermist, but is now the town outcast. His best friend is the town's pastor, Jennifer's father, and the two men had parted ways because of the murder committed by Nathan's son. Jennifer makes her way into Nathan's heart, as does her daughter Mandy, who looks up to Nathan as another grandfather whom she could love and cherish. Watching Nathan's character transform was a highlight of this book, and helped bring all the characters together, as well as tie up the story lines.

The relationship between Neal and his father Nathan is also a pivotal one that keeps the story moving. Nathan acts as if he never wants to see his prodigal son again, but what Neal doesn't understand is that Nathan only wants what is best for his son, and chasing him out of town is what Nathan thinks is the best thing to do. Jennifer is the person that tries to fix everyone's problems, and this includes the relationship between father and son.

A minor character, Jeremy Compton, the brother of the teen that was murdered, is a constant reminder of what had happened in the past, but it's not just a reminder of the murder. Jeremy behaves as if he almost owns Jennifer, acting too familiar with her while Jennifer is uncomfortable with the signals she's getting from him. His past and connection with Jennifer is not obvious, until it finally is spelled out at the very end, with an almost devastating conclusion.

As always, a good romance has realistically drawn characters with a story line that will keep the reader intrigued, and THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN has all that. The reader will not be disappointed with this Harlequin Superromance, and this reviewer recommends THE PRODIGAL'S RETURN. - Courtesy of Love Romances

The Prodigal's Return by Anna DeStefano
Harlequin Super Romance # 1358 - July 2006

Eight years ago, Neal took full punishment for the accidental death of his best friend. They fought because Bobby tried to force himself on Jennifer, Neal's girl. From that horrible night onward, nothing would ever be innocent again. Neal went to prison for his admission of guilt, and Jennifer spun her life out of control with a teen pregnancy.

Now Jennifer's back in town with her daughter, helping her father after his recent heart attack. Their relationship is strained and in need of forgiveness. Neal returns to town, he'd been released from prison a few years before and now his father's former partner let's Neal know that his father isn't wasting away. When Jennifer and Neal meet again, they instantly know that their love is still there and will always be.

There are several story lines to this book. There's the obvious, Jennifer and Neal's reunion. There's Jennifer and her father's rebuilding of trust and understanding. Neal's father Nathan is dying, and with this is his story of bringing his son home to him and forgiving himself for failing Neal. All these characters also find themselves connected to a teen, Traci, who is pregnant and trying to find her way, while having to battle her parents who want to control their daughter.

This was a very good story. This is my first by Ms. DeStefano. I found that at times, Traci's story seemed to overpower Jennifer and Neal's. Nathan was a great character and added just the right amount of spark. As far as, Neal and Jennifer, their love story is more of a continuation then a reunion. This works for this story, though I personally would have liked to read more about just Jenn and Neal. All in all, this was a most excellent read

The Prodigal's Return is another heartfelt and emotionally stirring story by Anna DeStefano.

Neal Cain has served his time for the accidental death of classmate Bobby Compton. That one tragic night sent several lives out of control. Now eight years later Neal has come home to care for his ailing father. But things have changed since Neal was sent away. His father no longer wants to see Neal or any of his former friends.

Jennifer Gardner's life took a downward path when your high school sweetheart Neal went to prison. Now with her young child in tow she has come back to mend some fences, primarily with her Pastor father. She is shocked to see the state of Neal's father's health and is determined to help. She wasn't prepared for Neal to walk back into her world either.

Neal and Jennifer have lived through some major ups and downs. Each has baggage that would drag a strong person under. They each have a strong and loving heart that will see them through the dark side and back to the light.

Anna DeStefano writes such joy and sorrows in her books. You will cry during the bad times and laugh during the better times. This book is a treasure.

I never cry, not for books or movies, but I cried through the second half of this amazingly touching story. DeStefano has the ability to make you feel and empathize with her characters who seem to live beyond the pages of her books, and this story is no different in this one than in her other tales (all of which are touched by her special style and earnest sincerity). The characters are genuine, unique and yet, still believable, with the kinds of problems and issues "real" people face and have to deal with. Her writing style is riveting and captivating with a compelling immediacy that will keep you hooked, spellbound and unable to put this down and with a timeless wisdom that will make you want to keep this book as a keepsake for your own daughters. What else can I say? I enjoyed every moment of it. "Thanks for a deep, emotionally evocative, timeless and precious piece of work Ms. DeStefano, and keep up the good work."