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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A New Season, October 31, 2004
This review is from: A Summer Affair (Mass Market Paperback)
Annotation: Blue Calhoun is one of the best doctors in San Francisco. But he has turned to be a bitter, sad, and heart broken man. He meets Isabel Fish-Wooten, a runaway, who has no knowledge of her past. Blue saves her life from a gunshot wound and is sceptable of her. She wins the motherly love of his son. She tries to open up his heart again but neither is sure what is to come.
Author Bio: Susan Wiggs published her first novel, "I Still Have This-CL", at the age of eight. After getting degrees at Harvard, and SFA, she soon after became a math teacher. Her first book was published in 1987. She is still a teacher and is a frequent workshop leader and a speaker at writer's conferences. She is a recipient of two RITA awards. Her novel, "The Charm School", was voted one of RWA's favorite books of the year. She also has several RT awards, the Peninsula RWA Blue Boa, the Holt Medallion, and the Colorado Award of Excellence.
Evaluation: Dr. Blue Calhoun could have any women is the Victorian city of San Francisco. He is so overly heartbroken of his wife's death ten years before. He meets Isabel Fish-Wooten, a women who never stays somewhere for more than one season. She helps him and his son to reconcile their hatred for each other and learn to talk about his mother's death. Isabel is a strong, passionate, eager woman. She is too scared to fall in love as well as Dr. Calhoun. They know they love each other, but will he let himself love again? Will she leave when the season changes?
I think this book was a great romance novel. It is my first novel I've read by Susan Wiggs. I am sure to read more of her books in the near future.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This Is A Pleasing Story..., December 16, 2005
This review is from: A Summer Affair (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the first novel I've read by Susan Wiggs. I read her book "A Summer Affair" as the reviews were good and she showed up as a popular romance novelist. I was really pleased upon finishing the book to find it was a real gem of a story.
I liked first and foremost that neither the heroine, Isabel nor the hero, Blue were the typical leads you read about. Instead, she was a woman who came from the slums of a workhouse, was abandoned by her family and became a person of her choosing. She traveled the world and did as she wanted in order to make a life for herself she never had as a child. This sense of adventure and wonder made her interesting, appealing and lovable to all who met her. In turn, Blue was a family man - surrounded by a honest and true son, warm parents, female siblings and friends he met during the war. Blue was dedicated to helping the poor and infirm and was the beloved town doctor.
I liked that they met after Isabel was shot in a dangerous event down at the docs and she held Blue at gun point to help her recover. Suspicious activity occurred at the docks and questions arose around Isabel over who and what she really was. In time, events unfolded to show Blue that mourning the loss of his first wife was right but, so was moving on to a new life. Blue found through Isabel that learning to laugh, love and enjoy life again was the best thing to do. Isabel in turn learned that she didn't have to move to a new location each season in order to constantly leave her past behind. She understood finally that seasons of joy can be never ending and that love can make the past go away.
Love and intimacy scenes were limited in this book - only a few and minor at that. When a book is this well written - strong characters, positive and witty dialogue and interesting plots - the love scenes take on less importance. I really liked this writers strong descriptions and in depth detailing when describing locations, events and emotions - it really draws you in. These characters grew on you as the book went on.
The side characters of sisters, friends and family were also warmly told and that made for a richer story line. Everyone was so likable that you really wished to meet them! You know an author has done a great job when you wish other characters in the book would be developed too and that through other stories you can meet the main characters again one day to see where they are at.
I will buy more novels by this author and hope for additional characters and stories that stay with you long after the last page has turned. Happy reading!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Summer's read., August 18, 2004
This review is from: A Summer Affair (Mass Market Paperback)
This was a fairly interesting story. Interesting in that Blue and Isabel met in an unusual way in 19th century San Francisco. Isabel was an interesting character in that she was alone as a single woman in that time and making a way for herself in the world despite a terrible past.
Lucas was deep and withdrawn and wanted Blue's good opinion. It was interesting to note that his father thought Lucas should have know he loved him by the mere fact he was his son, but Blue had a difficult time voicing his love and approval of his own son whom he loved deeply.
This was not as good as some of her books but it's a quick read and enjoyable.
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