Thursday, July 29, 2010

Ransomed Dreams by Sally John



From the back cover:

With the flash of a bullet, Sheridan Montgomery's world ceased to exist.



Her husband, Eliot -the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela - may have physically survived the assassination attempt, but he would never be the same again. And Sheridan had accepted neither would their marriage.

But when a man that Sheridan had hoped to never see again brings new information about her past, it spins her life down a side road - a path that makes her question everything she thought knew about herself, her husband, and their life together.

Does a promise last forever when everything has changed? With honesty and grace, best-selling author Sally John tells a moving story about the unexpected detours our lives can take and the hope it's never too late to find our way back.


My thoughts:

I kept thinking of Don Henley's song "The End of the Innocence," while reading Ransomed Dreams. If I were to sum up the first part of the book in one thought it would be; "When happily ever after fails." Sheridan and Elliot's lives shattered in an instant on a Caracas street. Sheridan even goes as far to refer to things as "B.C.E." (Before the Caracas Event) and "A.C.E" (After the Caracas Event). They've built a new life for themselves in a sleepy Mexican village, but that peace is shattered when they are visited by Luke Traynor, who had been with the ambassador's entourage in Caracas. Luke's visit sends Sheridan on a journey with exposes both the past of her family and the past of her husband.

I liked the quiet introspection of Ransomed Dreams. It was not a flashy novel, but I found it to be very thought provoking, and for that reason I could not put it down. I liked the voices of the secondary characters and the voices of Sheridan and Elliot. I loved the little glimpses into the diplomatic world, and the interludes that showed Sheridan and Elliot prior to his injuries. They truly seemed to be a power couple. I also loved how the prologue and epilogue were bookends.

I checked Ransomed Dreams out from my local library. I almost never purchase a book that I borrow from the library. However, I am seriously considering purchasing Ransomed Dreams as it is a book I believe I would love to read again.

3 comments:

Michelle said...

And this is why I usually title my posts before I start to write them. Ooops!

Kav said...

Sounds like an interesting book and a title I haven't come across yet so I'll definitely keep an eye out for it. I just love finding new books to read. Better than treasure!!! Or maybe they're the bestest kind of treasure!

Michelle said...

I love finding new books too! I usually look through the coming soon lists on CBD.