Weaving a thread of suspense into her trademark powerful storytelling, #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels delivers a compelling new novel about a woman who learns that her new life may not be all it appears . . . Anna Campbell is ready to take her first tentative steps back into the world after widowhood. On a singles cruise, she meets divorced professor Ryan Robertson, and the … divorced professor Ryan Robertson, and the sparks between them are undeniable. Back home in West Texas, Anna and Ryan continue their romance, and Anna decides it’s time for their families to meet.
Anna is delighted when her daughter, Christina, hits it off with Ryan’s daughter, Renée. The two girls are close in age and have lots in common. Ryan’s son, Patrick, is college-bound and somewhat aloof, but Anna feels sure they’ll grow closer in time. She happily accepts Ryan’s proposal, confident in the bond they’ve formed.
But the idyllic relationships Anna is hoping for are quickly thrown into doubt. Ryan and his children may not be all she thinks they are. And as the situation grows more desperate, Anna must reach deep within and draw on all her courage and self-reliance to fight for the family and home she deserves . . .
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I have always enjoyed Fern Michaels’ books and this one is no exception. The twists and turns keep you interested as you follow along with this well developed group of characters. She always keeps me guessing right up to the last page! You need to read this one!
I received an advance copy of this book from Kensington and I voluntarily wrote an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I won a copy of this book from the BETWEEN THE CHAPTERS BOOK CLUB. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
This is not the Fern Michaels romance that I was expecting. Anna Campbell has had a lot of loss in her life. Her beloved father died when she was 7. Her mother, who never recovered from his death, died from a massive heart attack while Anna was a senior in high school. Ten years into her marriage to her husband Wade, he died in a motorcycle accident, leaving her with their daughter, Christina to raise. Since Wade was sole proprietor and artisan of their business, that closed and she needed to find some way to use her marketing degree to support herself and daughter. She started a vlog (I had never heard of the term before this book and had to look it up) about grief, which became so successful that with sponsors it became full time and eventually branching out to cooking and lifestyle, making her a wealthy woman.
Years later, she has built a support team of her assistant Mandy, Mona her housekeeper and her husband Jeb the groundskeeper and her production crew. Mandy convinces her that she needs a vacation and books her on a singles cruise. She works very hard and has also had a stalker, so reluctantly agrees to go, while Mandy takes Christina on a trip to Orlando. On the cruise, she does meet a man, handsome Ryan Robertson, Professor at Texas Tech and out of character brings him back to her cabin- but the next morning she doesn’t remember what happened, panics and quickly leaves the ship. However, once home, she contacts him and they start to see each other. There are red flags that first she ignores, but something is off. Fortunately, she is not alone but has the support of her crew and the finances to hire help.
Not the romance I was expecting, but a psychological suspense story. The story starts out as a romance but slowly builds in suspense to the surprise ending while also slowly revealing more about each character. I was surprised though, that after all was done, she never suspected that Ryan might have slipped something in her drink that first night. That was the first thing that I thought of, when she woke up.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and this book had a whole lot more substance than what I was expecting. Warning bells were going off in my head.
Anna was a You Tuber celebrity and had lost her husband. After a while, her friend told her she needed to get back into dating and she should go on this singles cruise. At first, she said no but eventually said yes. She went and on the cruise, she met Ryan. It wasn’t like her but she had dinner with him and invited him back to her cabin. That was my first red flag. She then leaves the cruise ship and heads home. Once home she decides to look Ryan up on Facebook and send him a friend request.
I don’t do cruises because I am naive and don’t know a lot about them and what to do and after reading this book, I now understand why. The things that happened to her could happen to me if I was to go.
This book was an eye-opener for many reasons. Anna never talked to Ryan about his life, she just liked him and that was good enough. She did have feelings that something wasn’t right but she still brought him into her daughter’s life. What could go wrong? Well, you’re about to find out when you read this book.
I highly recommend this book because I learned a lot from it. I didn’t know you could put a date rape drug in a piece of candy. There were a lot of things I didn’t know so I am very happy I read this book and will be recommending it to some of my friends because it will show them before they find out the hard way some of the dangers out there and what to be aware of.
Threads of suspense…
Powerful storytelling…
Compelling novel…
A woman learns that her new life may not be all it appears to be…
Anna Campbell goes on a singles cruise in an attempt to get back into the world after her husband dies. She meets Ryan Robertson. There are undeniable sparks between her and the divorced professor on the cruise.
When Anna and Ryan are both back in Texas, they continue their romance. Anna decides it is time for their families to meet. Anna has a daughter, Christina, who seems to hit it off with Ryan’s daughter, Renee. Both girls are close in age and seem to have a lot in common. Ryan’s son, Patrick is a bit different to gauge. He is college-bound and Anna hopes they will grow closer in time. Anna feels confident in the bond she has with Ryan.
When a situation happens, Anna’s idyllic relationship with Ryan suddenly is filled with doubt. She thinks Ryan and his family may not be all she thinks they are. When things grow more desperate, Anna must reach deep down and draw on all her gut feelings and intuition. She has to fight for the family and the home she deserves.
Great read with all the trademark style of a Fern Michaels book. I really enjoyed how Anna developed into her own and came out on the other side of it as a better person.
A prolific author, Fern Michaels is one of my all time favorites. I was hoping some more of the experiences the main character had on set would be woven in or that she would realize she’d been roofied on the ship. I guess I was reading more into the back story. I was also hoping more on Ryan’s wife would be included. The stalker was a surprise but while mentioned at the beginning and end, didn’t really play into the story. I did enjoy the book but it left me feeling like I was missing some parts. I read it in one day and I would have bought it based on the author alone. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped.
Fearless
Really really good could not put this book down stayed up most of the night until I finished it
About a widow that makes her life over after he died by doing utube videos made a lot of money from it all and built a really big house
She goes on a cruise to get away from all the stress and meets a man
That is not as he seems
Kept me on the edge all through the story with all the twists! Great suspense book