Excerpt · Reviews

Afterglow by Ute Carbone – Excerpt/Review

Publisher: Champagne Books

Published: January 6, 2013

Length: 215 pages

Genre: Romance

Find/Purchase at:  Amazon, Barnes and Noble

 

 

Book Summary:

             India Othmar isn’t having a great year. Her husband, whom she married about 31 years ago, has left her for their son’s ex-girlfriend. Her adult children decided to move back home. Her best friend, of many years, Eva seems determined to set her up with every eccentric male in their small Massachusetts town. And her most significant relationship these days is with Cherry Garcia, which lasted 3 weeks.

But India is more flexible than she thinks. She learns, much to her surprise, that her life hasn’t ended with her marriage, even though it will take a broken arm, a lawn littered with engine parts, some creative uses for shoes, and a scandalous love affair of her own,

 

Excerpt:

             India was a big mess. Impending divorce. A mother-in-law that called weekly to see if I’d come to my senses. A hearing, scheduled at the end of the week. And Mitch. It’d been nearly a week since my brush with the law and Mitch had all but disappeared. I hadn’t tried to contact him. I didn’t know if it was pride or shame. Or just the fact that I was fifty-one and having regular hot flashes that seemed to point the way to crone-hood. The last thing Mitch needed, I reasoned, was an overheated old woman. As for me, maybe it was just raging hormones, some re-worked adolescent stage I was going through that had made me think about having an affair.

As though to confirm this theory, on the Wednesday before the hearing I went home in a state of overheat, thinking that a cold shower would cure my ills. My avoiding Mitch was a cold shower on any bud of a relationship. It was for the best, I told myself for the hundredth time. And yet when I saw a car parked in the drive my heart rate doubled, only to plummet again when I identified the car as Patch’s.

Patch stood at the front door as I came up the walk. It gave me a start, him standing there like that. This was the future: Patch with some lovely young woman, a woman nicer than Sasha, at any rate, raising a new batch of children in the family home whilst I was tucked away alongside the likes of Henry and other mature adults. The thought was a sobering one.

 Review:

 

            I REALLY loved reading this novel. It had its funny times, and at times hilarious. I was exhaustively entertained while reading this well written romance story. Even though it was fast paced, the author introduces you to the main character, India Othmar, who is a kindergarten teacher. Her best friend Eva, who is her next door neighbor, is a  business woman and lover of all men. Eva is always ready with advice even if it was out of place, She can make India blush, laugh and enjoy life. Refusing to let her blunder in ice cream and pajamas, together the two enjoyed life. India was faced with a distrustful, cheating husband, and a nosy mother-in-law, who was going through the process of divorce, to find a lawyer. The lawyer was madly in love with her and had to face the grown up children Patch and Allie with the truth. Each with their own set of issues creating an enjoyable book you could relax and read in a day.

            I really loved all the characters in the book, especially India, as they became alive. A great term that I would use to describe it would be realistic. I was left with the feeling that I know them and I felt empathy for India as she faced all the problems, from one night stands to being charge with possession of pot. We all have been through some of these situations before and Ute tells a lovely story about a woman who has many problems.

            I would rate this novel R (18+) because of same language and topics that may be disturbing to young adults (<18).  I would HIGHLY recommend this book to lovers of romance who do not want sex scenes in every chapter, but just wants to read something that is a down-to-earth, feel good story.  This is a book I can recommend to all Romance lovers, who also likes a little touch of comedy, to keep the book entertaining to the end. With a support system like India’s,  you knew she would eventually make the right choices and believe that she too can have another chance at love.

 

 

About the author:

Ute Carbone lives in Nashua, New Hampshire and is an accomplished author, teacher, mother, workshop leader.  As a teenager, she loved writing songs while playing her guitar.  While she was in college, she found her love of writing by keeping journals. Her first writing attempt was in the form of poetry, even going so far as attending poetry groups who, in turn, helped her get some of them published. Once there, she even wrote short stories and those stories grew longer and longer. She has learned to be a lot of things, from a shark researcher to a librarian to a rock star through her characters. She, and her book, was nominated for Author/book of the year in 2012.Who knows what’s next?  Writer, it’s the perfect job for the girl who wanted to be everything.

 

Online resources:

  1. 1.     Website: http://www.utecarbone.com/
  2. 2.     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ute.carbone
  3. 3.     Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/afterglow-ute-carbone/1114588544?ean=9781927454909
  4. 4.     Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Afterglow-ebook/dp/B00AXUUG74/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364336274&sr=1-1&keywords=Afterglow+by+Ute+Carbone

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17213339-afterglow?ac=1

 

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