An October Monday, early: Richard’s adopted stray dog yaps a warning of an intruder. Next, Richard learns he has been made redundant and his fiancée publicly throws his ring at him. Just before midnight, his ex-wife dumps a girl she claims is his daughter on his doorstep. Is it just three against the world, or will Richard find a new romance, a stepmother for Maria?
Three Against the World: A Waif, a Stray, and a Romance? (Richard and Maria Book 1)
By sarahstuart
“Three Against the World” is the story of a man, teenager, and Jack Russell terrier. Richard’s life has taken a turn for the worse, losing his job and fiancé, when his ex-wife shows up at his door with a teenage girl claiming she is his daughter. He takes Maria in and decides to raise her as his own. Without the proper paperwork, he hides her and then moves to London to start over. Maria carries the burden of being unloved by her mother, while Richard begins a quest to find a wife once he’s settled in London. Even with Maria’s help, his choice of women is an issue that plays out more than once. Maria has her past to overcome, and she trusts the wrong people. Richard’s character is complex and flawed in a way that makes him an interesting read. Maria seems almost childlike at first, unable to see her worth, yet capable of caring for a household. Ben, the dog, is my favorite as he is always there for them and can be protective when needed. The setting is detailed and rich, and I could imagine their house and the bar easily. This story takes you on Richard and Maria’s journey through several years, which had a few surprises I couldn’t have predicted. I will be reading more by Ms. Stuart.
Twists and turns at every juncture … a wonderful mix of romance and human drama …
Romance and melodrama don’t normally feature high in my reading preferences but I was in the mood to read something different, and this looked like it would fit the bill.
After the day from hell, to say that Richard’s life and those closest to him will never be the same again would be the mother of all understatements. I’m tempted to say that some elements are at first reading a tad implausible, but Sarah Stuart weaves them into the story with such seemingly effortless writing that you accept and believe them from start to finish.
The same qualities and compassion that led Richard Carpenter to adopt a problematic and previously abused little stray dog are the same ones that would make him the perfect father and husband. After his ex-wife, Naomi, turns up on his doorstep with a teenage girl, Maria, declaring her to be his daughter, Richard Carpenter is facing life-changing choices and dilemmas. Being the sort of man he is, Richard doesn’t hesitate in accepting responsibility for Maria, determined from the start to be the best father he can be. What emerges is a story of domestic and personal drama, filled with twists and turns at every juncture as his life lurches from one tribulation to the next while trying to build a home and future for his new family.
Some of the characters, male and female alike are as delightfully loathsome as ever graced the page of any book: an ex-wife who thinks nothing of dumping her teenage daughter with a complete stranger to her simply because the girl would get in the way of her new and extravagant lifestyle, a gold-digging fiancée that makes Cruella De Vil look like Mother Theresa, who calls off the wedding the moment her would-be future husband’s fortunes take a turn for the worse and who then strands Maria with a non-existent aunt just to get him back, and an utterly vile teenage lad who would threaten anything and anyone to hide and keep quiet what he’s done to name but three.
Amid all the turmoil going on in his life and a string of failed relationships with totally unsuitable women, indeed narrow escapes in some cases, Richard is lonely and desperately wants to settle down with a woman he truly loves, one who loves him in return and in the same way. Starved of the love she never got as a child, Maria too wants love and the man of her dreams, and in one final twist of fate, both Richard and Maria might just find the happiness they both crave.
The first book I’ve read by this author but certainly won’t be the last. One of the easiest five stars I’ve given all year, so thoroughly looking forward to the sequel and other books by Sarah Stuart!
I love Sarah Stuart’s writing. She has a style that is immediate and engaging. Richard is having a bad day. He loses his job, his fiancée dumps him, and his ex-wife leaves a surprise present on his doorstep – a fourteen-year-old daughter he didn’t know he had. He wants a partner in life – a wife, and Maria needs a mother, but there is a rocky road ahead and Richard and Maria both feel unlovable. The relationship that develops between Richard, Maria, his waif, and Ben, his Jack Russell stray is both heart-warming and touching. A tale well worth reading.
The bank branch where Richard is manager is shutting down–and his ex wife drops his teenage daughter on his doorstep. So now he has the adorasble stray dog he adopted, a daughter he is not sure is really his daughter–and no job! He is bound and determined to make ends meet.Maria, his daughter is like Cinderella–she has been used as a cook etc all her life with her mother. She kind of takes over the cleaning and cooking for Richard even though he never asks her to. Of course–how long can they keep eating microwaved dinners?
Richard takes on a job that is really not what he wants to do–he does finally get a better paying job!
The three of them move to a smaller house and Richard finally gets a gig in the evenings singing and playing his guitar which has actually been his dream.
He gets Maria into a very good private day school because he wants the best for her. Maria insists on cleaning and cooking none the less and begins to go to the place where Richard plays in the evenings. The dog goes everywhere they go! The owner of the place allows them to stay over–and Maria starts cooking for him as well!!
This is a heart rending book in some ways–in others heart warming. The ending will shock you somewhat–but all is well!
Three Against the World is a delightful read. At the beginning of the novel, Richard (the protagonist) is living a well-ordered life. He’s employed as a manager in a local bank and is engaged to be married. He lives alone in his family home with just an adopted Jack Russell Terrier (Ben) for company. However, two events occur that turn his ordinary life upside down. First, he loses his job and, when his fiancée finds out, he loses her, too. Second, his first wife appears on his doorstep with a 14-year-old girl in tow and tells him that the child is his and that now’s the time for him to take over her care. How Richard, his daughter (Maria), and little Ben respond to these events provides the meat in this story.
Author Stuart has done a masterful job fleshing out her characters – they are complex, identifiable and compelling. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was a wonderful change of pace from what I usually read (horror!)
I recommend this book to anyone who is a romantic at heart.