WITHIN REACH

Author: Barbara Delinsky ISBN: 0060542640 10/2004 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: HARPER COLLINS/TORCH

The lovely vacation house on the Maine coast was meant to be a glorious retreat for Danica Lindsay and her husband Blake, a place where they could mend the wounds of a damaged and tired marriage. Instead, she finds herself mostly there alone while Blake's political star is rapidly rising back in Boston. Were it not for the cherished companionship of her new neighbor, gentle and caring Michael Buchanan, Danica would surely be overcome by loneliness and despair. But a friendship that is strong, uplifting, and real is slowly transforming into something less innocent, more passionate -- something that could easily be called "love." For the first time in her life, a chance for true happiness may be in Danica's reach. But how can she grab onto it when she remains another man's wife, bound by her marriage vows to a union plagued by doubt and pain ... and by secrets so shocking an entire nation will take notice?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Wow! An exceptionally well-written and heart warming love story.

Danica thought that she had everything she could ever want, until she met Michael. Dani realizes that her marriage to Blake isn’t everything she hoped it would be, especially as she and Michael become better friends. Dani and Michael have so much in common and are great together, but Dani is married to someone else. There were so many times throughout the novel when I wished that Dani didn’t have any morals! But Dani is a good person, and I have to give her credit for standing up for what she felt was right. In the end I was really proud of Dani—-she grew so much as a woman.

I don’t want to give the ending away, so I will just say that you have to read this novel! It’s a bit of a love triangle with some political intrigue. Barbara Delinsky is a very talented author.

Carrye Syma