Nineteen year old Eliza Carlisle has just returned to Lorien,
USA from the UK, where she had been banished in the hope of keeping her away
from drugs and her destructive lifestyle. Eliza is the only child of a rich
business man, Tim and his wife Helena. Eliza had been in all sorts of trouble
and now has to repeat a final year at school in order to graduate.
Sixteen year old Julia Waters lives out at Riverside, a state
run home for difficult children. Both of Julia’s parents are dead. Julia is a
loner, shy and timid. She really doesn’t belong in a place like Riverside. She
has no friends, until she meets Eliza.
When Eliza first meets Julia, she’s immediately drawn to her.
Eliza has had her share of women, but there is something different about Julia.
It’s not about sex. Julia brings out the protective side in Eliza. She goes out
of her way to find out all she can about her.
When Eliza hears the story about Julia murdering her father,
she uses her friends and resources to find out more. It quickly becomes apparent
that Julia is innocent, there is proof. But something is not right. Something is
being covered up. Something that is tied up with top officials, including the
Mayor of the county. Eliza is determined to leave no stone unturned to get to
the bottom of what is happening, therefore freeing Julia of her guilt and
inhibitions. But this isn’t going to be easy and Eliza hits a brick wall
whichever way she turns.
As time passes, Eliza falls deeply in love with Julia and her
feelings are reciprocated. Even Eliza’s mother, Helena, approves of their
friendship. But there are some who will stop at nothing to tear them
apart.
Will Eliza be able to solve the mystery surrounding Julia? Or
will she be putting their lives and the lives of her friends in
danger?
This is Gaelle Cathy’s debut book. The book is nicely written
and has an underlying mystery running through it and lots of twists and turns,
making it a fast paced page turner.
The two main characters, Eliza and Julia, are both
multidimensional and have a wealth of lesser characters, friends, family and
enemies integrating with them and progressing the story forwards all the way
through.
Eliza is the strongest of the two main characters. We read of
how she evolves from a drug taking troublesome teen, into a caring, hard working
and tender, but feisty young woman. We also read of how Julia the weaker
character, slowly comes out of her shell with Eliza’s guidance. It’s lovely to
see her gradually begin to smile and become comfortable around people and to
gain confidence in herself.
Julia is a confused teenager, she has no idea of what she
wants, or really who she is. Eliza never pushes Julia, but gently encourages her
to be her own person. She shows her she is worthwhile and loveable. Julia
meanwhile, is instrumental in helping Eliza to keep up with her studies and away
from drugs. So, they both help and compliment each other.
When Eliza and Julia eventually do get together and make love,
it is totally mutual, no question of Julia being forced into anything she
doesn’t want. I just wanted to make that clear in case anyone thinks that
sixteen is too young and Julia had been unduly influenced. There is a slow
burning, intense, beautiful romance and tender love between Eliza and Julia. The
book is worth reading for this alone.
The one criticism I have of this book, is the way Eliza’s
thoughts are written interspersed throughout the book. There is lots of
information in them, so the information has to get there somehow, but I feel it
should have been integrated into the story differently, which would have made
the story less choppy and a much smoother read. There were a few typos, but the
price is ridiculously cheap and the book is lengthy, so it’s easy to forgive
them.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking out for
anything Gaelle Cathy writes in the future.
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