A Whole New Light

Staci Snell's uninspired narration adds little to this tedious story about a beautiful young widow who reluctantly falls for her dead husband's best friend, a handsome playboy, after a romantic weekend in Mexico. Differentiation between Cyn McCall, the widow, and Worth Lansing, the playboy, is barely perceptible, signaled, as it is, by a slight dropping of voice and a smidgen of a change in cadence for the hero and a little breathy intonation for the guilt-ridden widow. None of the minor characters are memorable either. Brown, who usually spins a most enjoyable story, simply misses the mark, and Snell's presentation is equally forgettable. A.C.P. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

February 15, 2008
Social worker Cyn McCall is a young widow with a small child living with her widowed mother. Although it has been two years since her husband's sudden death, Cyn has not yet moved on. She is unhappy with herself but unable to acknowledge that she is no longer married. Her only personal contact is her husband's business partner and longtime best friend, Worth Lansing. One evening, when Cyn goes by Worth's home to vent her frustrations, she discovers that his planned weekend in Acapulco with his current girlfriend has fallen through. Reluctant to go alone and waste the prepaid vacation, he talks Cyn into accompanying him. When they arrive at the resort, they discover they have the honeymoon suite with one king-size bed rather than the two beds they had anticipated. From there, the plot follows its inevitable course. Has sex ruined a friendship that is precious to both of them? Cyn and Worth are sympathetic characters, though Cyn is sometimes annoyingly dense. Staci Snell reads well; her Cyn runs the gamut from depressed to angry, with many stops in between. From a novel originally published in 1989; recommended for all libraries where Brown and romantic fiction are popular.Nancy Reed, Immanuel Baptist Church Lib., Paducah, KY

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.