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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Emotional Romantic Tale, September 17, 2006
This review is from: A Reason to Live (Forrester Brothers) (Paperback)
Laurel Covey has lost a lot in a very small period of time. Her husband is killed during the civil war, her family has turned its back on her because she dare to marry a Southerner, and the ghosts of the men she tried to help working as a nurse in the field haunt her dreams. Deciding the best way to put the past behind her is to face the families of the dead soldiers and share with them their loved ones last words and thoughts. Laurel hopes that this will not only give the loved ones peace, but maybe just maybe she will achieve a little peace. Her travels are solitary until one afternoon a man races to her rescue. It's providence that they should meet. Creede Forrester, an ex-gunslinger is looking for Laurel. He hopes that she will tell him that his son really didn't die during the war. He has no one right now and his life has never seemed so empty. But, Laurel is going to change all that and together these two wounded people will put the past to rest and find a happy ending.
I have been a long time fan of Ms. McKade dating back to her first titles she wrote for Avon back in the mid `90's. Her talent has only grown as she has perfected her craft penning her romances. "A Reason to Live" is full of heart and emotion and Laurel and Creede are perfectly matched, each helping the other through their individual pain. The eclectic cast of secondary animal characters and human characters as well are a perfect complement to the story. Ms. McKade has done a fine job bringing the post civil war south to life and the reader will see, feel, and hear all of the elements she has described as we travel along with Creede and his Laurel. If you are only going to read one historical romance this fall, I highly suggest you select this one. One word of caution you better have a box of Kleenex handy as you will need it. This is one read that will tug at your heart. Reviewed for CK2S Kwips and Kritiques.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
McKade's written a winner, September 10, 2006
This review is from: A Reason to Live (Forrester Brothers) (Paperback)
Wow, what a story! McKade is really coming into her own as a solid romance novelist. She has created a heroine who is truly unique, a woman struggling with the bloody horrors trapped in her memory, afraid she's slowly going crazy, and a hero who is also trying to come to grips with his wife's and son's deaths. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Laurel, our heroine, travels the South to bring the victim's final words to their families as she has promised the men she would do. Creede joins her in her quest, and their initial antipathy towards each other turns into respect and then love. But, what is so good here is the vivid descriptions of a South ruined by the War, of people who are much worse off than before. McKade does an excellent job of bringing the reader into the broken, desperate experiences of so many different kinds of people affected by the ravages of the Civil War. Her two main characters are hurting in different ways, but drawn to each other as well. You will see the South through their eyes, but will also enjoy a good, page-turning plot and a satisfying love story. There are at least two more stories that will spin off from this initial novel, and I am thrilled. Can't wait for the next one!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
deep poignant historical tale, September 9, 2006
This review is from: A Reason to Live (Forrester Brothers) (Paperback)
During the Civil War Nurse Laurel Covey provides solace to dying soldiers though no one offers comfort to her. Her Massachusetts parents disowned her after forcing her to choose between them and her Virginian spouse, who died at Gettysburg. His family wants nothing to do with a New Englander. Though watching the young die torches her soul, she writes down their last words promising them she would deliver their final message to loved ones.
In 1865 though bone wary from the war, she begins her odyssey to bring comfort to the grieving family members of those she watched die. When two scraggily hooligans assault her, bounty hunter Creede Forrester rescues her. The Texan has come east to find his estranged son, who fought for the Confederacy. She informs him that his son died. Anger joins his feelings of guilt as he never obtained the chance to reconcile with his offspring. He joins her quest out of remorse for failing his late spouse and son. As they venture from one grieving family to another, they turn to each other for solace; love blossoms, but both has major psyche hurts that make neither able to show how they feel.
Though a historical, A REASON TO LIVE is a deep poignant tale that clearly would apply today as Laurel makes the difficult rounds to provide grieving individuals and families with the last words of their deceased loved ones. The lead couple is an enchaning pair who care about others for different reasons. The romance enhances the story one, but this Post Civil War drama belongs to those suffering from the loss of a loved one; perhaps if the presumptive first strike believers had to visit the surviving family members to tell them their loved one died in combat they would take a harder look at the war only option.
Harriet Klausner
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