Sunday, 2 February 2014

Year of the Monsoon by Caren J Werlinger


Leisa Yeats has a good life.She has a loving family, her relationship with her wife of ten years, Nan, couldn’t be better and she enjoys her job working with children.

Suddenly within weeks, everything changed and Leisa’s well ordered life spirals downwards out of control.

Leisa has always known she was adopted, but never asked for any details. Then she discovers a web of secrets and lies her parents have kept from her for years. Now Leisa begins to question her whole beginning and existence.

Unfortunately at almost the same time, her relationship with Nan goes on the rocks. Nan has kept a deep dark secret from Leisa the whole of their time together. Leisa has totally lost her trust for Nan and her faith in their relationship. Will she ever be able to forgive Nan?

Everything Leisa held dear and believed in has come tumbling down around her and is being swept away. In her haste for some normality in her life, Leisa lets the wrong people in. Leisa is lost and floundering in the stormy waters of her once calm and well ordered life. Who can Leisa reach out to? Who can Leisa hold on to as she is tossed around in the muddied waters of the storm?

Another superbly well written, turbulent, blockbuster of a story from the very talented master storyteller, Caren J Werlinger. This is a story of strife and new beginnings. A story with real, true to life characters that will stay with me for a long time. This isn’t an emotionally easy read, but has some nice light hearted humor to lighten the darkness.

This story fits in so well with the title. How life can be on an even keel, ticking along nicely, then something like a virtual monsoon comes along to devastate it. One thing piles on top of another, destruction and upheaval reign supreme, then the waters go down and life begins to once again get back on track. Not without more stormy waters along the way though. Once the monsoon is over, life can begin again, although not as it once was. Life changes, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

This story of Leisa and Nan’s lives got under my skin. I was gripped from the very first page and I couldn’t get through it quick enough to find out if their relationship survived against all the odds. These two well developed, multifaceted characters were backed up by a wealth of equally wonderful characters. Some good, some bad, but all playing an important part in the story. 

Caren J Werlinger never writes two books with any similarities in the stories, just consistently good writing. So, when picking up one of her books, I know I’m in for a refreshingly different read each time with a good story where romance doesn’t over shadow the plot. Another book for my re-read folder.

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