We are finally moving on from L.J. Smith's Night World series, and onto something greater. Starting Sunday, I'll be giving a special dose of romance for St. Valentine's day, an entire week dedicated to the saint and its day. I figure, I need a good book to hold up in between, and that's just what I have. This next book has love, but a different kind. Love between a long-lost daughter and her estranged father. Things obviously don't go smoothly at first, but like all people who are thrown together, they find a way to get by.
The book is Tender by Valerie Hobbs. The main character is a semi-goth girl named Olivia, but called Liv. Liv's last family member, her grandmother, has just passed away and she has to fly all the way to the west coast to live with her father. She has never known her father, who left when her mother died, and has never written or sent anything that indicated he ever wanted to see her. Now she has to move there and spend the rest of her high school life in California with the dad she never knew.
Liv's dad, Mark Trager, a famous diver, is one of the most stubborn people Liv's ever met. He never seems to care about her, he doesn't even pick her up from the airport. He leaves that to his new girlfirend, Sam. Sam is the opposite of Mark, she's fun and smart and sweet. She also has cancer, and that scares Mark. Just like when Liv's mother died, Mark left and Liv is scared he'll do the same to Sam. But Sam is convinced that there is good in Mark and that Liv will see it when she gets to know him.
The only other person that liv enjoys seeing, it's Brian Spinuchi. Spinuchi is her father's tender, which means he's the person who controls the lifeline when he dives. Mark doesn't really like Spinuchi that much, but he's good for work. Spinuchi and Liv have a slight connection right away, and she kinda wants to act on it. But, Spinuchi is more than Liv can see with her eyes. He gets into trouble and Liv will have to see if he is really the guy he claims to be.
Things are so uncomfortable between Mark and Liv, and the tension thickens when Spinuchi breaks his arm and can not be Mark's tender for the summer. Mark forces Liv to do it, and she does well enough that she convinces her dad to take her out one last time. But this ends up being a horrible desicion for Mark as things take a turn for the worse. The end is crazy and I was so worried about Liv, but as all books usually do, she ends up all right.
RED'S ALL STAR REVIEW: 3 3/4 out of 5. Good book, interesting story with lots of drama! I'm starting to think the scale is too small. I'm thinking of changing my scale, maybe to a ten?
MASS APPEAL: Anyone who fueds constantly with their parents, or has a parent they don't know well, this is good for you. People who like drama and hate stubborn parents, or teenagers, will like this one too.
Click Here! for this book on Amazon.com!
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