OCEANS APART

Author: Karen Kingsbury ISBN: 9780061456718 4/2008 FICTION Publisher: AVON

A night that changed everything . . . Eight years ago, during a stormy weekend on the shores of Hawaii, Connor Evans broke his vows. He's kept his secret, until the woman from Connor's past dies, leaving behind a young son . . . Michele never thought her family was perfect, but they were happy. Now her family is on the brink of destruction. Will a lonely child help bridge the distance between them—before it's too late?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

OCEANS APART is not a traditional romance novel where boy meets girl and they fall in love and live happily-ever-after. But this is the story of the happily-ever-after, or sometimes the not so happily-ever-after, a story that picks up where the others leave off, but a story with some hard realities that we sometimes may face in life and how we deal with them.

My heart went out to Max and Michele, a son and a wife that were handed a tough load to carry. Orphaned, Max had his safe life ripped from him with no warning. And Michele, who was so very much in love with her husband, had that love betrayed, leaving her to question their future together.

Then there's Connor, who you want to be mad at but you can't be because he wants to do the right thing by everyone he loves. But he faces losing someone important to him no matter what decision he makes, and that tears him apart. It leaves one asking themselves that if they were in Michele and Connor's place, what decisions would they choose? But I think the important messages were clear in this book, such as one's faith, and that made this story come to life. A seven year-old who wakes up every day to read his Bible and who prays religiously, made me take notice of my own life and relationship with God!

Sheila Smith