LEANING TOWARD THE LIGHTFinally free from her abusive ex, Claire Stone accepts a job as a live-in nurse in the small beach-side town of Busselton, Western Australia. A new life is exactly what she needs. Move away, move on, forget. If only things were that simple. Even the intriguing but abrasive son of her new patient can’t shield her from relentless memories.Michael Karalis is watching his … is watching his mother die while battling his ex-wife for custody of his five year old son. He’s bitter, broken, and distrustful, but Claire becomes a light in his world, despite his reservations. Two broken souls need to learn to trust again and open their hearts or they’ll never find the love they both need.
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Michael and Claire are both reeling from relationships gone horribly bad, and they get off on the wrong foot when they first meet. Michael’s ex-wife took their son and moved away, making it difficult and expensive for him to have much contact with Oscar. Claire’s ex-husband was abusive, and is in prison for stabbing her. She needs a fresh start, and moves to take a job as a private duty nurse for Daphne, Michael’s mother. He’s dealing with trying to get custody of his son, while coping with Daphne’s impending death. This book is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, full of loving characters, family and friendship, drama with the exes, apologies and forgiveness. Michael and Claire – both broken, bitter, not looking for any type of relationship. And that’s when love strikes. Oh, this one starts with a kind word here and there, before moving to friendship. The side characters are just amazing. Daphne – so very smart and intuitive, I grew to love her like Claire did in the short time they spent together. Von – Daphne’s old friend and housekeeper is the best type of friend. Norman – Michael’s best friend, they can talk about anything. Joanna – Norman’s wife, she was Claire’s best friend years ago. This is my first book from this author, and I’m hooked!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Abandoned Hearts
Author: Lisa Stanbridge
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 17
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 7/10
Cover: 6/10
Of the 17 readers:
12 would read another book by this author.
10 thought the cover was good or excellent.
17 felt it was easy to follow.
12 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 8 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
11 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
12 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“A very enjoyable romance with strong characters and a well-crafted plot. I liked the central message of healing.” Female reader, aged 43
“Although the cover was a bit generic, the story was very good. I thought the author did a good job creating interesting characters, particularly Michael. There’s good chemistry too.” Female reader, aged 47
“This author is a good writer who understands what romance readers want: lots of chemistry and plenty of twists and ‘will they/won’t they’ moments. The pacing is a little uneven here and there, but it’s still an entertaining read.” Female reader, aged 59
“Solid romance with the focus on the characters and not the plot. The average romance reader will find a lot to enjoy here.” Female reader, aged 61
To Sum It Up:
‘A well-written romance with a strong message of healing. A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended!’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
This is a heartfelt storyline that is relatable Michael Karalis is watching his mother die and battling the ex-wife for custody of his five year old son. He’s distrustful, but Claire will become a light in his world, despite his reservations. Can two broken Souls find there way to each other? This book was well worth my time to read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first book by this Author that I have read and what a story! This is Claire Stone and Michael Karalis story.
It’s a story of love, hope, trust, abuse and everything else needed to survive and come through the other side.
They both have to deal with their respective pasts and so that they can more on towards reaping the benefits of the present.
I recommend this book
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Heartfelt Romance with All the Feels
This romance takes place in Australia. It takes a while to puzzle out both the hero’s and heroine’s backstories; no dreaded info dump here. They’ve both had, and currently have to some extent, troubles with their prior relationships, she with an abusive man and him with a wife who left him, taking their son. I’d call him bitter and abrasive, especially at first, while she is fragile and emotional. I could sympathize with her right away, but I found him to be a bit of a jerk at times, which I never like a romantic hero to be, no matter the reason. They certainly got off on the wrong foot at their meet-cute, but the book is long enough to show their relationship naturally develop, first becoming friends and then possibly more. The secondary characters in this book are phenomenal. I particularly like Daphne and Von, the hero’s dying mother and the long-term friend/housekeeper, respectively. The author writes the characters well, and the plot has heartache built right into it with the terminal mother. We can’t help but want the heroine to feel right in her life, no matter what shape that takes, because of her past abuse. A well-done, heartfelt story.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
After getting away from her abusive husband Claire took a job as a personal nurse for a terminal cancer patient. But when she met Daphne’s son Micheal she wondered if she made a mistake in taking this job. He clearly hated women and he had no problem showing it. And withbher history that was not something she needed, especially not while she was still recovering from the years of abuse she suffered. Michael had an adversity to women after his ex-wife left him for another woman, taking their baby with her. But he immediately noticed Claire and even though he did not want to, he noticed her beauty as well as her vulnerability and wondered what happened in her past. Even though they had a rough start they gravitated towards each other and slowly became friends and then the feelings became more. But will they be able to leave the hurts and insecurities of the past behind and let themselves be open to love again? This is a story of two people who were hurt before by the people they trusted to love them, a story of healing and believing that you are enough.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The story grabs you and holds you. The characters are strong, well developed, each dealing with past relationships that weren’t good. They’re great together and have a beautiful story that’s and enjoyable read. The story flows smoothly through the pages and keeps your attention. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and will be reading more from her.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved this heart wrenching story with Claire who is a nurse trying to rebuild her life after her ex husband nearly killed her. She moves across Australia to be a live-in nurse to Daphne who is dying from cancer and lives with her son Michael. Michael and Claire get off to a rocking start as he is grumpy due to all that he is going through with his demanding ex. I loved the main characters in this story and it broke my heart when Daphne passed because she was a lovely person but really happy that Michael finally got custody of his sweet son Oscar and his ex get what she deserved. Finally Claire moves on from her past and she and Michael are looking forward to a HEA.
This is the first book by this Author that I have read and what a story! Claire Stone and Michael Karalis have things both in their past and present they have to overcome, if they are going to be together. A beautiful story that handles Claire’s abuse at the hands of her ex, and what Michael is going through with both his Mother’s health, and his ex, as he tries to get custody of his son Oscar. I recommend this book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.