Sandy M’s review of Every Time I Think of You by Tracey Garvis-Graves
Contemporary Romance published by Tracey Garvis-Graves
With her debut book, Tracey Garvis-Graves became one of my favorite authors. She keeps the reader glued to the page, puts them through a gamut of emotions, and never gives anything away until the very last minute. She’s one of those rare finds amid the too-common books we have to wade through much too often.
This book is full of fate. Karma. Divine intervention. Whatever you want call it. The stars align just so for Brooks McClain and Daisy DiStefano to cross paths. And those paths are not lined with roses. Brooks has moved back to Fenton to help his parents. His mother has been diagnosed with ALS and is in her final days. His father is coping but needs a shoulder. Never dreaming he’d be back in this nowhere town, Brooks leaves his job at the San Francisco Chronicle, moves into his boyhood room, and is now working for the local newspaper. First assignment: a murder. What a way to start out.
Daisy and her son, Elliott, live with her grandmother, who raised her when she lost her family years before. Making her way home from her nursing job, the apartment building where they live is a hive of activity: police cars, crime scene tape, neighbors standing around and whispering. But her grandmother and Elliott are nowhere to be found. In shock at the news her grandmother has been killed, Daisy makes it through only with grit and determination and the help of close friends. As the shock wears off, there’s a lot to do, first of which is planning a funeral and then moving into a new apartment where she and her son will be safe.
In between the everyday activities required in life, good or bad, Brooks and Daisy get to know one another. Brooks drops by her new place to keep her updated on the investigation and to see how she and Elliott are doing. This is a wonderfully written relationship, little by little it grows into full-blown love. It’s a thorny path getting there, however. Daisy’s hopes are raised that Brooks will stay in Fenton, but reality sets in almost too late. She doesn’t need her heart broken, but she’s more worried about her son’s heart. Those scenes with Brooks and Elliott are simply heartwarming, especially after the heartbreaking scenes at the beginning of the book.
As you learn about their respective lives, you also learn how and why life was turned upside down for Daisy. When Brooks’ mother succumbs to her illness, he heads back to San Francisco and you try to figure out how it’s going to work out for them. Fortunately, these two characters have some common sense and know how to use it. Especially after what they’ve been through. Of course, fate, karma, the cosmos still have a hand in lining up those stars for them. Another terrific story from Ms. Garvis-Graves. If you haven’t read any of her books, you’re missing out.
Grade: A
Summary:
Thirty-year-old Daisy DiStefano has two people she holds dear: the grandmother who raised her, and her three-year-old son, Elliott. But when Daisy’s grandmother is killed in a seemingly random act of violence, Daisy must take steps to protect herself and her child.
Despite a thriving career in San Francisco, thirty-six-year-old Brooks McClain has returned home to spend what little time his mother has left before she succumbs to the deadly disease that is ravaging her. The seasoned investigative reporter has taken a position with the local newspaper and been on the job less than twenty-four hours when he’s summoned to cover the death of Pauline Thorpe.
Brooks is all business, but the more time he spends with Daisy DiStefano, the more invested he becomes; there’s something about a single mother, a defenseless child, and an unsolved crime that has stirred Brooks’s protective instincts like nothing ever has before.
And when the unthinkable happens, Brooks will do whatever it takes to clear the name of the woman he’s fallen for and the child he’ll protect at any cost.
No excerpt available.
