Hey everyone,

This is a longer than normal review—I couldn’t decide what to leave out!!

I think this trilogy is possibly the best story I have read this year.  If you have not read it, you owe it to yourself to try it.

Two friendly warnings upfront:

1. The story takes all three books to tell.  Books 1 and 2 are cliffhangers!! Be forewarned.
2. This story has a lot of emotional upheaval in it, especially as it relates to the character of Mia.  Emotions, both good and bad, are very strong in this story.

Now, for a brief synopsis.  Schooner (I love this name) and Mia meet in college.  They are soul mates and know it.  Through a misunderstanding, the characters’ immaturity in knowing how to straighten out misunderstandings, and some devious behavior on the part of another character, they are torn apart and their lives take very different paths.  Twenty-four years later, they find each other again and are determined to be together.  The story starts present day and their lives are told largely in flashback, so to speak.  We learn what happened in college and their respective lives apart while they are re-discovering their relationship and figuring out how to make things work.  I laughed and cried throughout this story.  The moments of humor, largely due to a secondary character, are so very important, especially in contrast to the moments of total heartbreaking sadness that occurs as the story unfolds (see warning #2 above).

What I thought made this story so strong:

1. The characters.  Obviously, Schooner and Mia are front and center.  They are well-developed throughout the story and we fall in love with them for who they were and who they become.  Mia in my opinion is a very strong female who is not afraid to tell Schooner what she thinks when he needs to hear it. Schooner is a wonderful character.  Also, all the secondary characters are completely essential to the story.  They all play an important role in the story of Mia and Schooner’s lives.  There are not any extra characters who just take up space.
2. The story itself.  I don’t think the author uses any extra “filler” materials.  Everything that happens in the story (especially in Mia’s life) is important to how Schooner and Mia matured and developed as characters.  Life happens (the good, the bad, and the very ugly).  The author wasn’t just using up pages in the books.

This story is an emotional roller-coaster, but a ride well worth taking.  Do yourself a favor and if you decide to read it, go ahead and get all three books—you will need them.D

Happy reading,

Debra