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More Than Words Can Say    by Robert Barclay Amazon.com order for
More Than Words Can Say
by Robert Barclay
Order:  USA  Can
William Morrow, 2011 (2011)
Softcover, e-Book

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* *   Reviewed by Carrol Wolverton

This book could be a charming romantic tale in the style of Nicholas Sparks, ideal for summer reading at the cottage or beach. It tells the story of love lost by Chelsea Enright's dead grandmother, Brooke. This is revealed in letters after Chelsea visits her grandmother's summer lake cabin in the Adirondacks.

After a partial reading, Chelsea decides to stay, particularly after meeting the hunky resident of the neighboring cabin. Slowly, through her grandmother's diary of letters, a tortured past reveals and provides a future for Chelsea, a future not realized by her conscience tortured grandmother.

Unfortunately, numerous errors in the uncorrected proof I read got in the way of my enjoying the novel. The verb lay was overused to the point that I watched for the next one. Words repeated in error in the first part of the book also distract. Finally, the letters are too much and too convenient, appearing as needed to move the story. During the letter readings, the mind of the grandmother's late boyfriend reveals itself. How could the letters of one person reveal the mind thoughts of another? It rings as improbable and reminds me of Victorian literature.

This cements when the boyfriend's grave is discovered next to Brooke's by some unexplained means. But with proper editing (which I assume is the case in the final version) and some serious rewrite, this book has the potential of becoming a solid love story from the World War II era.

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