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The
Catherine Palmer File:
Falling for You Again
by Catherine Palmer & Gary
Chapman
Reviewed by Sheryl Root
"...a realistic, heart-warming, and humorous look at the ins and outs of marriage."
Charlie and Esther Moore—married nearly fifty years—are the backbone of the Deepwater Cove community. While Charlie's daily ride in his golf cart to check on the neighborhood and Esther's plentiful, unsolicited advice could be considered interfering, their neighbors know that the Moore's want only the best for them.
Charlie has noticed Esther being a bit forgetful lately, but he isn't too concerned. After all, they are both getting older and everyone forgets things occasionally. Then Esther goes for her hair appointment and puts her car into drive instead of reverse, flying off the end of the carport into the backyard. While she isn't badly hurt, the accident seems to bring a change in Esther. Once talkative and chatty, Esther is now moody, irritable and depressed. Some days she won't even get dressed. When Charlie finds some hidden letters in Esther's dresser drawer, he begins to wonder if he really knows her at all. Has their whole marriage been based on deception?
Meanwhile, the residents of Deepwater Cove are having challenges of their own. Patsy Pringle, owner of the "Just As I Am" salon, and Pete Roberts, proprietor of the "Rods N Ends" bait and tackle shop next door, are finding their on-again, off-again relationship is on-again and beginning to get serious. Newlyweds Brad and Ashley Haines are fighting all the time, contemplating the "D" word and ending their marriage for good. And the crush Cody Goss has on the Hansen's daughter, Jennifer, is creating excitement and confusion in both of their lives.
Falling for You Again, the third in the Four Seasons series, builds on the previous books and, in my opinion, is the best so far. This visit to Deepwater Cove is a realistic, heart-warming, and humorous look at the ins and outs of marriage. When Esther makes her pot roast, mistaking garlic cloves for the pearl onions, I found myself laughing, and then getting tears in my eyes. This happened often throughout the book as authors Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman use humor and tenderness to keep the story entertaining, in spite of the difficult topics it addresses.
While this could be read as a stand-alone book, the numerous characters and their histories make it even more enjoyable when read as a series. I'm looking forward to reading the final Four Seasons book, Winter Turns to Spring, when it's released in June 2008.
Sheryl Root is a voracious reader and aspiring author who started writing book reviews to ease her guilt about all the time she spends reading. In addition to this purely selfish reason for reviewing, she loves to be able to support Christian authors and spread the word on great books. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, a wonderful community of published and yet to be published writers, where she learns an amazing amount of practical wisdom to help in her writing journey. Sheryl has also written reviews for Armchair Interviews.com.
