At Last (Paperback)

by Barbara Bretton (Author) "Gracie Taylor fell in love with Noah chase on the first day of kindergarten..." (more)
Key Phrases: Gramma Del, Idle Point, Simon Chase (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Gracie Taylor, scared and aware that she is "different," falls in love with Noah Chase in kindergarten when he asks her to sit with him. Noah is the son of the wealthiest family in Idle Point, Maine, while Gracie was raised by her grandmother, the Chase family's cook, because her father is an alcoholic and her mother is dead. Unbeknownst to the children, there is a lot of animosity between the Taylor and Chase families, and when Noah's father, Simon, finds out about the friendship he sends Noah away to boarding school. As teenagers, Gracie and Noah become romantically involved in secret, but once again Simon interferes. After Simon's death eight years later, the thwarted lovers return to Idle Point, and the whole town waits for their happy reunion. But Gracie is troubled by something Simon told her, and Noah doesn't know what's wrong. Bretton's beautifully crafted tale offers a variation on the plot of Romeo and Juliet that transforms the tragedy into a romance. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
" . . . a richly textured book . . . I could hardly ask for more." (Mary Sophia Novak, reviewer) -- All About Romance

4 stars - a recommended read. -- Susan Scribner -- The Romance Reader - November 2000

Barbara Bretton provides her fans with an emotional contemporary tale that hits the guts and heart with its force. -- Painted Rock - November 2000

Bretton's beautifully crafted tale offers a variation on the plot of Romeo and Juliet that transforms tragedy into romance. -- Booklist - September 15, 2000 (Patty Engelmann)

Ms. Bretton takes you on an emotional roller coaster as she guides you through the lives . . . of Idle Point's residents. -- Rendezvous - November 2000

RT Top Pick for November - Ms. Bretton takes the star-crossed lovers plot and turns it into her own convincing and distinctive storyline. -- Romantic Times (Jill M. Smith) - November 2000

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (November 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425177378
• ISBN-13: 978-0425177372
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting romantic drama, November 7, 2000

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

For the first time in eight years, Manhattan veterinarian Graciela Taylor returns to her hometown of Idle Point, Maine to attend her father's latest wedding. Gracie abruptly left town by herself the night she was to elope with her beloved Noah Chase, who left shortly afterward.

To her chagrin, Noah has returned to sell off the family's newspaper. While he always wondered why she left him, Gracie thinks back to those days when her widowed father Ben hated Noah for no reason except he was a Chase; his aristocratic dad Simon loathed Gracie for no reason except perhaps because she was a Taylor. She still loves Noah though he is the father of someone else's girl and still hurts from the secret that Simon revealed to her on that fateful day.

AT LAST is an exciting romantic drama that highlights the destructive side of obsessive love on innocent future generations. Ben is a pathetic drunk and Simon seemingly in control is as emotionally as unstable as his rival is. The story line uses flashbacks to tell the tale of eight years ago, but although the technique works, readers must wonder why the intelligent and ambitious Gracie would accept Simon's word without talking to anyone else to collaborate it. Still, Barbara Bretton provides her fans with an emotional contemporary tale that hits the guts and heart with its force.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I didn't want it to end!, March 26, 2001

By A Customer

At Last is an endearing love story centered around two characters that are meant to be together but have to face the fact that it's impossible for them to do so. The plot is familiar, but the author did a great job of making the readers care about Gracie and Noah. The setting was wonderful and the story got better and better as it went on. I'll be looking forward to reading more of Barbara Bretton's novels.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel needed !!, March 16, 2003

By A Customer

I loved the characters in this book and the town so much
that I need to lobby Ms Bretton for a sequel!!
This is a story that grabs you from the first page and keeps you turning them until your eyes are blurry from reading too far into the wee nighttime hours. It is a perfect love story that is satisfying and believable. Turn off the tv news of the day and prepare to relax in the sweetness of this love story that Barbara Bretton so skillfully unfolds. You'll be wanting to hear of a sequel too!