Customer Reviews

A Summer Affair

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

This is my third Susan Wiggs and although not my favorite it was worth buying and reading. What really brought out the book for me was the character of Isabel. This tortured heroine was strong and brave even when bad things were happening around her. She makes the story. I also liked Blue, but I wished Susan didn't have the second story line with Blue's son and the girl he liked just because it look away from the romance of Blue and Isabel. I also wished there was an epliogue, but there wasn't. If you like this book you should read The Drifter and The Hostage by this author.

A young doctor with a humanitarian heart and the unlikely name of Blue Calhoun finds himself in for a shock when his patient pulls a gun on him. He is even more startled to find that his assailant is a woman.

Isabel not only forces Blue to save her life, but forces her way into his home and family. She quickly finds a place in his orphaned, rebellious son's heart and reveals herself to be a continual source of surprise for the young doctor. Though he vowed to never love again after his wife's tragic death, Blue finds that he can not help loving Isabel.

***** Tackling turn of the century social issues with the romance of the Brontes and the clarity of Dickens, Ms. Wiggs paints a harsh tapestry of San Francisco's early days. Drugs, slavery, and racism all combine to form a cruel world in which love sharply stands out as a thing of beauty. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore

In San Francisco, Dr. Blue Calhoun, medical provider to much of the poor, knows that he will never overcome his failure no matter how many good deeds he performs. Almost as soon as he reaches his home, a lad points a gun at him demanding he remove a bullet from his back. He quickly learns the lad is a woman, Isabel Fish-Wooten. He performs the surgery, but to his shock she flees into the night.

Later, Blue learns someone killed a cop. He wonders if the mysterious Isabel is the culprit. With a citywide manhunt searching for the cop killer, his teenage son brings a semi conscious Isabel to him for treatment. As Blue learns her mystery, he falls in love, but is he placing his beloved son and cherished nurse in jeopardy because his heart rather than his brain is doing the thinking?

A SUMMER AFFAIR is an engaging historical romantic mystery starring two likable lead protagonists and a strong secondary ensemble. Readers will particularly admire the strong willed courageous Isabel. The suspense never lets up as the plot twists and turns more than Lombard Street leaving the audience wondering what will happen next in this taut thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Susan Wiggs is a telented writer. I realized that when I read A Circle In Water, to date my favorite of her books.

The story in A Summer Affair is well told in the rich details it paints 19th century San Francisco with. However, when the book ended, I felt unsatisfied. Blue and Isable were both fascinating characters and I guess my biggest gripe with the book, is I would have loved to have known more about the enigmatic Isabel's past. While Ms. Wiggs gives a lot of hints and few tid bits, I felt there was so much more she could have expanded on. She certainly did with Blue's life. Mind you I know that his father was a character from another of her books so she already had a wonderful history to write from that, still Isabel deserved more. What a fascinating story her's would have been had we been allowed to share more in it.

Other than that, it's a decent book and the cast of characters are pretty interesting. But I didn't like it nearly as well as A Circle In Water and it leaves me in doubt as to whether I'll ever buy another of Ms. Wiggs books for fear of being disappointed again.

Blue Calhoun is a widowed doctor who is trying to raise his somewhat rebellious son. Since he doesn't believe he is raising his son successfully since the death of his mother, Blue tends to the poor and underprivleged of San Francisco. One night on his way home he rescues a young boy from a couple of crimps. The boy is injured and as thanks to Blue holds him at gunpoint demanding Blue to fix him up. As Blue gets underway to patch up the young boy he is surprised to learn that the boy is actually a young woman. Isabel Fish Wooten is her name and she will turn Blue's life upside down! She is as fiesty and full of life as Blue is withdrawn and brooding. Can the lady of adventure Isabel stay put in one place for more than a season? And can Blue open his heart and take a chance to love again? The summer is just beginning for these two.

A Summer Affair was an average read. It didn't have all of the excitement I thought it might. I picked up this book because the cover was appealing and the title caught my eye. This book however, didn't meet my expectations. It seemed to move at a slow pace. It took forever for anything to really happen. When the story finally got going it was a good read. It just took too long to get involved. I believe this story could have been told and been a much better read if it had been shorter. There was just too much "filler" in the pages. The storyline was good and the characters were likable and believeable. This book was just too long.

To sum it up, I would borrow this book from the library instead of buying it. Not a keeper in my opinion.

I lost my original copy of this book when I was a little more than 1/2 way through it. I had to purchase another copy to get to the end. I enjoyed the book so much, I couldn't put it down. Amazon was even the most reasonable with the price & I received the book in a couple of days. Keep up the good work Amazon.

RF

I am reading this novel now. I enjoy historical fiction. This novel by Susan Wiggs is very good. I would
recommend it.