Becalmed
Normandie Fischer
Paperback: 385 pages
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Publication Date: July 1,
2013
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1938499611
ISBN-13: 978-1938499616
About the novel
When a Southern woman with a broken heart finds herself
falling for a widower with a broken boat, it's anything but smooth sailing.
Tadie Longworth doesn't spend much time worrying that she’s
turning into one of Beaufort, North Carolina’s, spinsters. She has a gift shop
full of her own jewelry designs and a sweet little sailboat to take her mind
off the guy who got away. But now he’s back—with the fashion-plate wife he
picked instead of Tadie—and he’s hitting on her again.
When widower Will Merritt limps into town with a broken
sailboat and a perky seven-year-old daughter, he provides the perfect
distraction—until that distraction turns into fascination when Tadie offers
shelter during a hurricane. Over candlelit games of SlapJack and Monopoly,
Jilly becomes the daughter she could have had and Will the man she always
wanted. Only, he’s sworn never to let another woman in his life. Any day now,
he’s going to finish those repairs, and that ship's going to sail—straight out
of Tadie’s life.
To purchase
My thoughts
Sarah Longworth, better known as Tadie, has grown up in a
privileged family along the beautiful coast of North Carolina. Unconventionally, she is a sailor, who loves
her business and seems to never work a day.
She has a beautiful home she inherited from her parents and good
friends. But Tadie is approaching middle
age and has not loved or been loved in return; she has missed becoming a mother
and forming a family of her own. To my mind,
this must be a tremendous nagging ache on her soul; no matter how she fills her
life to distract it. And then love, as
it has a way of doing, appears out of nowhere when she meets Will and his
daughter Jilly.
Normally, I don’t read typical “romance” novels as I am one
of those who has had and lost my great love and now must find comfort in being
alone. However, it was the title that
grabbed me, Becalmed… what a wonderful word and a wonderful way to describe a
graceful state of existing. In fact, I
wouldn’t necessarily categorize Becalmed as a typical romance novel, at least
the ones my Grandmother devoured. Rather
it a story about the emotion of loving and the feeling of being loved. In fact, Becalmed, offered us love in its
many forms: familial, friendship, parental and of course the most personal;
mutual erotic attraction combined with the purest admiration for another –
almost a combination of all the types of love combined in one powerful mix, but
certainly a love that puts the lover in a state of bliss – they are becalmed,
complete.
In this way, from memories rather than from hope, I enjoyed
Becalmed and found it restored, just a bit mind you, the notion that there
could be another that would rival the first love in my life and that Normandie
Fischer is no small task! Thank you for
giving your reader a story of the beauty of a romantic, physical relationship
and the completeness it brings to life.
It was encouraging and inspirational and a true pleasure to spend time
with. I recommend Becalmed without
reservation.
About the Author
I write from on board our sailboat or from on shore in
coastal NC — stories of women and families and the things that get to them.
Connect with Normandie Fischer
Thanks so much for that lovely review. You really touched me at: "...it restored, just a bit mind you, the notion that there could be another that would rival the first love in my life and that Normandie Fischer is no small task!"
ReplyDeleteWe'd like to come away from books with hope, wouldn't we? And so I hope you find your second love. I made so many early mistakes that I only found my true, best love late in life and in an unexpected way. May you be so blessed.
I can away from the novel with a feeling of hope, a remembrance that life is never really over till the...
DeleteIf He intends it for me then surely it will happen or I could be called in other ways. In any case I did love the feelings of the remembrance of falling in Love Becalmed evoked. I will never forget it...
Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to reach out personally to me. It is truly appreciated!
Warmest regards, Shannon
Beautiful review. Thank you for the way you shared your heart right along with you opinion about this book. And I love your website. As a writer myself, you've hit on my goal--a most happy reader.
ReplyDeleteThank you Robin, as a reader I am Most Happy, but the title is a bit of spin of my favorite Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn, motto "The Most Happy", but yes, I hadn't realized it, but I am most happy when reading!
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
It's sad that some great women's fiction gets categorized as romance. Becalmed is truly women's fiction, which by definition deals with issues of the heart or women's issues. I loved Becalmed!
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right! So much more than a romance. Thanks for leaving a comment.
DeleteThank you so much for your kind words. It seems that Becalmed left us both with something more meaningful than another novel on the self. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
ReplyDeleteFun, Shannon. Thanks to all the posters here.
ReplyDelete