Sandy M’s review of A Song for My Mother by Kat Martin
Contemporary Romance published by Vanguard Press 5 Apr 11

What a heartwarming story this is. It’s one of those stories that goes straight to your heart, not your libido, which it seems we’re so used to these days in our romance reading. A Song for My Mother is a tale of second chances, of forgiveness, of friendship, and, of course, of love – all in more ways than one.

Not wanting to return to her hometown after twelve years away, Marly sucks up the hurt and betrayal she suffered at the hands of her parents to make the trip to Dreyerville to introduce her daughter to the grandmother she’s never met. Katie has just completed cancer treatment and Marly can deny her nothing, including reliving the past in living color where all the horror happened. Steeling her heart against her mother’s explanations, Marly stays in the background while Katie and Winnie become acquainted.

Living in Detroit, city girl Katie doesn’t have a lot of good friends, so when she meets the boy next door so begin her hopes of making Dreyerville her new home, if only she can talk her mother into those hopes. Ham is the perfect friend, going to bat for her as no one else but her mom ever has. But Marly just can’t get over the past, avoiding her mother whenever possible and wanting to get back to Detroit as soon as she can. But things also change for her when she meets a next door neighbor of her own.

Hoping she can somehow get through to her daughter, Winnie also doesn’t want to push Marly too much. She ran from her family once and she will again if feeling cornered. After all these years, Marly should know her father’s secrets and why Winnie stayed when her daughter wanted only to go. Patience is her only option.

Reed is the local sherrif, a widower raising his son in small town America. He’s not been interested in a woman in four years, but meeting Marly has stirred something in him he thought never to feel again. Maybe it is time to move forward. He tries to help mother and daughter also move forward and gets a door slammed in his face for his efforts. But Reed isn’t one to give up, especially when it comes to something he wants.

There’s also a side story of Emily, widow of another sheriff’s officer killed in the line of duty, and her son Timmy, which is just as moving as that of the main characters. I love the small town way of life, how folks look after one another, and Ms. Martin writes it very well, even giving readers an extra romance along the way.

All of these characters are real and hurt by life, some of them want and need forgiveness. Others need enlightenment and friendship. All of them need love. Ms. Martin handles every one of these elements with compassion and emotion. I read the last page of this book and gave one of those happy sighs from the warmth and smiles, even the mistiness, these characters evoke. Pick this book up. Soon. You need to read it.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Years after running away with her boyfriend in her junior year of high school, Marly Hanson returns to Dreyerville at the request of her daughter, Katie, who has recently been treated for brain cancer. Katie has never met her grandmother, Marly’s mother, Winnie. But Marly and Winnie have been estranged for years and confronting the past for each of them is painful. The homecoming is bittersweet, but revisiting the conflict between them is crucial if Marly and her mother are ever to find the bond they shared before Marly left Dreyerville.

To complicate matters, living next door to Winnie is handsome sheriff and widower Reed Bennett, and his son, Ham, who is close to Katie’s age. Ham and Katie become fast friends, while their parents find their attraction to one another going deeper than mere friendship. But Marly’s time in Dreyerville is limited and risking her heart isn’t something she’s willing to do.

As the days slip past, and though she tries to avoid it, Marly and Reed become more deeply involved. Can she risk loving the handsome sheriff and give up the the future she worked so hard to forge for herself and her daughter? Can she make a life in Dreyerville after what happened all those years ago?

Will Marly finally realize that her true destiny and ultimate happiness lie in coming to terms with her past?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: