Book In Review

      Iris Johansen has done it again…she wrote a page-turner.  I like alot of Ms. Johansen’s books because she invariably taps into secret compartments, inside of each of us, that seek to understand just what motivates the people that she writes about.  She seems able to capture a reader’s desire to know more about the characters in her books.  By the time you realize that you have invested a little emotional connection to the outcome of the story…you have already reached the point of no return; in putting the book down to attend to your other responsibilities in life.  I am guilty of a gluttony of the written word!   I wasn’t personally enamored with the title of this book…but, the book itself was good. 

      It has  action, drama, and of course, romance.  There is the typically large, overly dramatic misunderstanding in the romantic relationship, between the hero and heroine…which of course, happily resolves itself before the end of the book.  Knowing that this is coming in the story doesn’t take anything away from the story or away from Ms. Johansen’s writing; she writes in a way that justifies it; by making it appear as if, it too, could happen to you in one of your real life relationships.  After all, we can’t read our partner’s minds in real life…and just because we can climb into the charater’s heads in the book…that doesn’t mean that the characters in the book can do the same. 

        A Summer Smile underscores the fact that relationships are all built upon the foundations of our past relationships…both good and bad.  Learning how to overcome those negative experiences; and, turning them into a strengthening of oneself to be a stronger healthier person, opens the door to a healthier, longer lasting relationship in the future. 

        A Summer Smile has all of the elements of a great romance; a kidnapping, a sheik, terrorists, Middle Eastern horse stables, poachers, tigers and a rebellious love struck teenager.  All in all, i like the book…and it was a good escape from the real world. 

        This book was published by Wheeler Publishing in 2007 (large print).  Iris Johansen lives close to Atlanta, Georgia and is a prolific writer.  http://www.irisjohansen.com/