Well-Spoken Wednesday--Called Home: Two Hearts Answer by Gloria Schumann Review

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Summary from goodreads:  Emma Benson's view of life was crafted by the death of her brother as a child, abandonment by her father and later, the man she trusted she would marry, until David Schlosser-back in town after years in New York writing best-selling novels-threatens her neatly tended life. Romance blooms. Emma and David eventually persevere in the face of tragedy, refusing to leave their dreams behind.

Called Home: Two Hearts Answer by Gloria Schumann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was truly a fun read.  I was smitten with this book from almost the first few pages.  The author drew me in with the strong and spirited Emma and the sweet and good-humored David.  And, of course, who doesn't love a nice country setting where the reader is spirited away from the big city problems?  This book was a fantastic escape to a simple world with just enough complications to keep things interesting.

I was intrigued from the start by the banter between David and Emma.  The more they argued, the closer they got--as it should be.  Even when my interest waned in certain sections of the story, I was hooked by this love-hate relationship between these characters.  The author indeed has a fantastic sense of comedic timing.

I was not expecting the bit of mystery that entered the story.  There was no doubt how it would end--after all, this is a romance--but I found that I was uncertain as to path of the conclusion.  I found the explanation of the mystery was not quite sufficient--it was rather illogical in my opinion--but not everything has to make perfect sense in fiction after all.

I appreciated the way in which God was an integral part of the story.  It was assumed that all go to church, and I feel that the characters relied on God for guidance.  Better still, I loved the fact that the characters were not sexually active before marriage!  They were on guard, and even when placed in positions where they could have compromised, they did not!  It is so rare to read romances where the characters do abstain.

What were my criticisms?  The only real fault I found in this book was that the physical affection between Emma and David got rather boring at times.  Don't get me wrong--I loved reading about it.  But I felt that all too often, the descriptions were the same thing over and over.  And the reader knew after the first few times how the physical intimacy in a particular scene would end.  It was the same thing over and over.  I also did not see the financial struggles of Emma and her mother as central as I felt they should be.  It seems that Emma has plenty of time and resources--maybe too much.  But then that gives her and David more time together, right?

I, for one, found this a delightful summer read, and if you are looking for a clean romance that you can read in enjoy in a weekend, look no further!

The author, Gloria Schumann, gave me a copy of the book to read and review in exchange for this review.  I was not financially compensated in any way, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.


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About the Author

(from http://gloriaschumann.yolasite.com/about-the-author.php)

THE EARLY YEARS

I grew up in the midst of car country in the suburbs of Detroit in a loving, Christian family. Through the school years, I hesitated to light on one area of interest due to a love of a wide range of activities and interests. During the formative years they were music and sports—mainly, track and basketball. Not able to parlay any of those into a career, I headed for college.

At the University of Tennessee, I not only discovered a major, but also my husband of many loving years. The major was Logistics, the husband was and is, Paul Schumann.

From Knoxville, TN, after graduating with honors, my journey took me to the outlying area of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I worked in a pharmacy for a couple of years until the blessed beginning of our family came along. We—Paul, our five-week old daughter and I, left the cold of Minnesota for the heat of Austin, TX where the three of us still live with the addition of a son and a daughter.

Outside of faith and family, I have never been as engrossed and thrilled about anything as I am about writing. It is truly a passion.

HOW WRITING GRABBED ME

I came to writing in an unusual way. Not ever having been much of a reader for the majority of my life and with my kids mostly grown I came to embrace a love of reading I had never experienced before. Always having been a sucker for stories about relationships, especially romantic ones, I leaned toward that genre in my quest for deeper insight into stories than television and movies could offer. I was hooked.

I read whenever I could. Waiting for dial-up to load was a perfect time, also during advertisement breaks of a show I was watching, and yes, I read in the bathroom also. You can laugh. I laughed at myself. It's pretty funny for someone who wanted nearly nothing to do with reading more than an article on occasion.

Then going about my life, enjoying my family and my newfound love of reading novels I was tapped on the shoulder one day with the idea of writing, broadcast plain as a radio announcer through my head. I know, sounds a bit nuts. That's what I thought and gave a 'Heh!' at the absurdity of the thought and went on with life. This happened on several occasions at times when my brain was no where near a topic or thought as such. I began to consider it, almost embarrassed by the idea. It started to seep into my everyday thinking more often until I gave in to the absurd notion.

At the beginning of my writing journey I did so in secret. I promised that I would give it a real effort, but if it was painful, like hiking over rocks with no boots, that I would quit and no one would have to know of the thought that should have never been.

When it proved to be not only not painful, but enjoyable, I thought, okay, so I like doing it. That doesn't really mean it's a good route to follow. So with this in mind I confessed my secret to my husband. No, he didn't laugh. I placed several chapters in his hands and asked him to read it, but only if he would tell me if it was junk or not. Before you say anything, I know what you're thinking. He's just going to be nice and tell me it's fine. That's just it, although my husband is a fantastically nice guy, I know that he wouldn't let me waste my time continuing down a path that was futile. After several sets of chapters he left me a note on one remarking that I should definitely continue because in his words, 'You have a real talent for this.'

I am very grateful to Gloria for giving me this book to review.  She was extremely accommodating since I do not have an e-reader, and I was unable to read the first copy she sent (thanks, Gloria!)  Not only that, but when she returns from vacation, she will be doing a guest post on here, and she will be doing a giveaway of this book in e-book form! Isn't it great?  So get a jump on things and like her on facebook and follower her on twitter!