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3 out of 4 stars
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Embracing the Tide by Janice Williams is a romance novel about finding love for a second time. Ericka and Amanda had been neighbors and best friends for years. They had each married a man named Bob, and they had nursed them through illnesses until they died. No longer having their husbands to care for, they feel jobless, lonesome, and with new identities that they did not ask for. Ericka is a popular romance author and is writing her latest book. She decides to take a road trip up the Pacific Coast highway. She has her manager arrange for several book signings and a keynote speech she will give on being a widow on her way to Seattle. At a restaurant in Crescent City, Ericka meets Liam and is instantly attracted to him. She calls Amanda, who cautions her to be careful since she does not know anything about him. Ericka also feels like any romance she could potentially get into would take away from the love she had for Bob. Does finding love after the death of a spouse make you unfaithful to them? What will their children's reactions be? Should their feelings be considered?
Janice Williams has done a fantastic job with the character development. The characters were realistic, and she accurately described the devastation of becoming a widow. As a widow, I could empathize with many of Ericka and Amanda's feelings. I remembered how emotional I got when our favorite song played, which enabled me to understand Ericka's emotions better. The demographic descriptions in the book were spot on. I could visualize Fritz, Ericka's miniature Yorkie, chasing seagulls on the beach. After reading the first two chapters, I was so drawn to the book I wanted to take a road trip of my own.
There are only a couple of negative aspects to this book. I would recommend that the author move the "Table of Contents" to the beginning of the book instead of it being at the end. I would also recommend that she have this book edited by a professional editor because I found over ten errors.
I decided to give this book 3 out of 4 stars because the positive aspects outweighed the negative aspects. Having the "Table of Contents" at the beginning is a personal preference and did not take away from my enjoyment of the book, so I did not consider it in the rating. The book did not receive a perfect score because of the number of mistakes it contained.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy romance novels. The main characters are elderly, so older readers will probably enjoy it more than younger readers. Widows will likely benefit most from this book because it explains what it means to be a widow and gives hope for a happy and healthy lifestyle after a spouse's death. Readers who are sensitive to prayers or borderline profanity may want to avoid this book.
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Embracing the Tide
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