Paradise Mine by Ronna Gage

TITLE: Paradise Mine
AUTHOR: Rona Gage
PUBLISHER: Siren-Bookstrand, Inc.

MAIN GENRE: Contemporary * Erotic Romance

SECONDARY GENRE: Military  *  Political

LENGTH: 304 pages 

HEAT LEVEL: Boiling
OTHER: M/F 

ROSE RATING: – 4 1/2
REVIEWED BY: Willow

BLURB:

Rae Anne Jamison and Landy Laurent have the kind of love most people envy--that is, except for Rae Anne's father, a high-powered political figure in Texas. But she and Landy ignore her father’s complaints and focus on their upcoming wedding, planning it for when Landy returns from the newly declared Operation Desert Shield.

Lonely and depressed without him, Rae Anne clings to a preplanned vacation in tropical paradise with him in a year, but when she receives word that he is missing in action and presumed dead, all hope is shattered.

REVIEW:

Brought together by some of life’s tragedies when they were children, Rae Ann and Landy knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. But sometimes fate—as well as meddling relatives—has a way of interfering.

On the night before Landy leaves for his military enlistment, Rae Ann and he share the special moment they’d held off on for years. There’s no doubt about their love or devotion, despite their young age. With heartfelt promises to come back and marry her, he leaves to begin his service to their country.

Rae Ann feels a deep sadness at Landy’s departure, but clings to the promises and hope for their future. When things take an unexpected turn and Landy’s whereabout and status become uncertain, she clings to their love, praying he’ll come back home safe, for she has something very special to share with him.

This is one of those stories that slowly grows on you. The beginning starts off with a sexual bang, then mellows out some as the author takes you through a lot of character development. While the story mainly focuses on Rae Ann for a while, it picks up with Landy at an appropriate time in her life. You’ll find yourself frustrated, angry, confused, and inevitably satisfied by the end with the plot twists and turns. Questions that develop early on will be answered in due time, cloudy plot details made clear. There were a few editing errors, missing words here and there, but nothing too distracting. The author does a good job handling grammar, punctuation, and character point-of-view. My only complaint--and this is minimal--would be with some of the dialect. There were times it seemed a little too wordy or odd, which isn’t uncommon in a lot of stories. My suggestion to the author (to all authors) would be to read the dialect aloud, verbally act out the scene to see if it sounds normal. Overall, it was a really good story and I’m glad I got the opportunity to meet Landy and Rae Ann.

If you crave a story with memorable characters and tangible dilemmas, then grab a copy of Paradise Mine by Ronna Gage. It promises to deliver a heart touching tale that will make you happy, make you cry, and likely stay with you a while.