A Soft Place to Fall [Paperback]

Barbara Bretton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2001

A young widow from charming Shelter Rock Cove, Maine, Annie Galloway has finally found the strength to start a new life. All she needs is courage, and time. The last thing she needs is a handsome, charming next-door neighbor...

"Beautifully crafted." (Booklist)

"Seductive." (Publishers Weekly)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To the tiny town of Shelter Rock Cove, Maine, Annie and Kevin Galloway seem to have the perfect marriage. But when Kevin dies suddenly, Annie is left with bittersweet memories, never-fulfilled dreams of children and artistic fame, and massive debt from Kevin's secret gambling addiction. In an attempt to clear the debt and make a fresh start, Annie sells the home she shared with Kevin and moves to a cheap beachfront cottage. There she finds herself powerfully attracted to her new neighbor. Once the rising star in a corrupt Wall Street firm, Sam Butler has secretly turned informant and is laying low until the federal investigation is complete. Even knowing that a trial and possible jail time are pending, Sam can't help pursuing Annie; despite heavy disapproval from Kevin's family, Annie can't help but respond. The two come together only to find that Annie's unexpected pregnancy and Sam's hidden past threaten to tear their love apart. The Wall Street details of Bretton's (At Last) story line are shaky, but she excels in her portrayal of the sometimes sweet, sometimes stifling ties of a small community. The town's tight network of loving, eccentric friends and family infuses the tale with a gently comic note that perfectly balances the darker dramas of the romance.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

It's been two years since Annie Galloway's husband died, and she is finally putting her life back together, even though she stays in Shelter Rock Cove, Maine. Annie has never lived anywhere else, and her life is tied to the small community, which is a blessing and a curse. Her mother-in-law took her in at sixteen when her parents died, and she feels grateful for her love, but her husband was not the saint that everyone thinks he was. When she meets Sam Butler, a Manhattan investment broker hiding out in the small town and reevaluating his life, they instantly connect, but some townspeople are suspicious of the newcomer and his relationship with Annie. Sam and Annie do keep secrets from each other, hoping to keep their newfound love separate from the past, but prying neighbors may tear them apart. Once again Bretton creates a tender love story about two people who, when they find something special, will go to any length to keep it. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (November 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425182169
• ISBN-13: 978-0425182161
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #916,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In the month of February 1982 I wrote and sold my first novel. And no, I wouldn't believe it either if it hadn't happened to me. I sent in my manuscript on Thursday February 21, 1982 and four days later the telephone rang and I heard the amazing words, "We want to buy your book." How I wish you could have seen me. I was standing by the kitchen door of our North Babylon house, the picture of cool sophistication, as I listened to Vivian Stephens explain the terms of the deal to me. You would have thought I'd sold a first book every single day of my life. Yes, I said. Sounds wonderful. Thank you so much for calling. I look forward to our association. That cool sophistication hung on until I hung up the phone, took a deep breath, then promptly threw up on my shoes.

I was thirty-one years old, unagented, unschooled, unfamiliar with anything to do with the business of publishing. To put it mildly, I was in shock. My husband was working in Manhattan at the time (and finishing up his degree at night) so it would be hours until I could break the news to him. This was too exciting to waste on a phone call. I wanted to see his face when I told him that my dream had finally come true -- and came with a $6000 advance!

He pulled into the driveway at midnight. I was waiting in the doorway, holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. I didn't have to say a word. He knew right away and the look of joy and pride in his eyes warms me now, years later, long after the advance faded into memory.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Cozy Treasure for a Starry Night, April 25, 2002

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Soft Place to Fall (Paperback)

I'm not always in the mood for romances, but when I am, I'm very picky. I want them to make sense, I want the characters to be likeable and believable, I want a story I can sink my teeth into, and above all, I want (of course) a happy ending.

When I first picked up "A Soft Place to Fall," it did not hold my interest. Try as I might, I could not get past the first chapter. But something kept me from putting it away permanently, and a few days ago, I was drawn to it again. This time, I was hooked. I'm not sure what put me off the first time, but this time around, I loved the story, the characters, the writing--everything.

Basically, the plot revolves around two lost souls. Annie Galloway, everybody's vision of a perfect bride, and a perfect wife in a perfect marriage, has lost her perfect husband when she is only in her 30s. Only she knows the truth behind the facade of her seemingly fairy-tale life, and she cannot reveal it to anybody. Her grieving mother-in-law, Claudia, looks to her as a remnant of her lost son. Her friends and family continue the myth. So Annie finds herself a cottage in her home town of Shelter Rock Cove, Maine, and tries to pick up the pieces of her ruined life. All of her dreams, of happiness, of motherhood, of everything--seem gone forever. She is a shell, but a strong shell, if that makes any sense.

Close by lives newly arrived Sam Butler, back home after a high-flying career in New York. Only he knows the terrible secret that haunts him and threatens his peace and security. He is in no better shape emotionally than Annie.

Sam and Annie meet, and, in the way of most romance novels, sparks fly. But this book is written with intelligence and dignity. They do not eye one another and then jump into bed. A great deal of hurt is contained in each of these people, and as in real life, each is afraid to reveal that hurt or to risk another one. When they finally do fall in love, they do not live happily ever after. Reality intrudes. Big-time.

How they solve their very real and very overwhelming problems while trying to save their budding relationship is the core of this wonderful story. I loved every word of it. And yes (sigh), it does have a happy ending.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful relationship drama, November 7, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Soft Place to Fall (Paperback)

When his much younger friend asked wealthy Warren Bancroft for a place to hide for a while, he arranges for investor Sam Butler to stay at Shelter Rock Cove, Maine. Warren also manipulated the staying at a nearby beach cottage of Annie Galloway. The widow struggles to regain her life ever since her spouse Kevin died leaving her with quite a debt and a loss of innocence.

Warren loves Sam and Annie and hopes by bringing these two deserving people together, a loving match will form. However, Kevin's mother Claudia refuses to allow Annie to move on feeling that would be an affront to the memory of her cherished son. She believes Sam cheated Annie with their real estate deal and is still interfering with her former daughter-in-law. As Sam and Annie begin to fall in love, Claudia is like a ghost from the past reminding Annie that Kevin was forever.

Barbara Bretton has written a powerful relationship drama loaded with angst and emotion as the past and the future clash within Annie with the catalyst being the key secondary characters causing the skirmishes that tear at her gut. The story line provides the audience with a poignant character study as readers travel deep into the souls of the lead couple and the support cast. Anyone who enjoys a passionate look inside the hearts and souls of the prime players will find A SOFT PLACE TO FALL a solid book to read.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even when bad things happen to good people..., December 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Soft Place to Fall (Paperback)

Sam Butler and Annie Galloway were playing the cards they were dealt. Each of them loses both of their parents at a very young age. Each of them is so bound by family responsibility that they overlook one very important thing--their own happiness.

This is a love story that is dying to be told. It is a love story that is destined to happen. And although the plot is fairly predictable at the climax, the reader cannot possibly stop reading to find out if these two wonderful, loving people can outrun their pasts and actually find their own happiness.

It is a beautifully written romance. Hearts will thump during the romantic encounters. Tears will flow at the end. Then the urge to reread will immediately begin. A joyous book for romance lovers.