Only Love Can Heal

April 10, 2017
Harris (Guarded Passions) first released this historical military romance as Officers’ Ladies in 1987, and ’80s romance novel mores—including double standards for men and women—are visibly at work in this story. In England during WWII, plucky aristocrat Lt. Kate Russell first meets working-class soldier Robert Campbell when he is playing chauffeur for her father, Gen. Sir Henry Russell. Robert and Kate soon fall into a serious relationship, but when Robert announces his plans to marry Kate, her father is apoplectic. While Kate and Robert are on their honeymoon, Kate’s mother has a heart attack and uses the illness to try to break the couple up. Kate goes home but Robert stays in Germany, and soon he has an affair. When Kate pays him a surprise visit, it is she who gets the surprise, but she somehow manages to turn the other cheek. The story then sweeps through several decades; characters get married with unlikely speed, unexpected pregnancies abound, and the plotting jumps around too quickly. The attraction between Kate and Robert has questionable chemistry, and the ending fails to uplift, ending this uneven effort with a whimper, not a bang. Agent: Caroline Sheldon, Caroline Sheldon Literary.

June 1, 2016
In present-day England, West Country villages still exist, where everyone knows everyone else's business. So best friends Cindy Mason, a farmer's daughter, and Rebecca Peterson, daughter of the village butcher who does business with the Masons, strive to leave. Cindy saves up for acting lessons in the city, while working at the controversial new supermarket, which is threatening the hamlet's family businesses. Rebecca goes to university in Cardiff. As Harris (The Mixture as before, 2015) describes the lovely countryside, she introduces the big news about the Petersons' endeavor to raise pigs, revs up the measured pace, and stokes up some fear. Is there any truth to the rumors that reach Rebecca about Cindy's affair with a married man? Will this fray the close-knit town's relationships? Will Mrs. Mason ever be able to show her face in public again? When Rebecca's mother stops working at the shop, a handsome new assistant is hired. What role will he play? Harris' family saga, with hints of mystery and romance, is a great summer read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)