Can a moment of passion
outlast years of secrets and misery? For Julia Patterson, meeting Luke
Buchanan awakens within her a passion she's never dared dream possible.
He claims her body and helps her remember what it means to be a woman.
But Fate has a twisted sense of humor. Just when Julia is ready to step
over the threshold into a wonderful new life, her almost-ex-husband is
diagnosed with a heart condition that puts her divorce on hold. Turning
her back on Luke is the most difficult thing she's ever done. But Julia
has a secret, one that Charles discovers and uses against her.
Years later, when Luke walks back into Julia's life, the passion between them is just as explosive. But Charles is still controlling her from the grave, and the secret Julia has hidden for fourteen years could destroy their dreams forever.
Years later, when Luke walks back into Julia's life, the passion between them is just as explosive. But Charles is still controlling her from the grave, and the secret Julia has hidden for fourteen years could destroy their dreams forever.
I
must stress that the 3 star rating has NOTHING to do with the author’s talent.
She created a piece of work that left me thinking about my own approach to
people like Julia and what I might need to change and understand in the
future. My rating is on my personal feelings regarding Julia and the
direction this story took along with the drag time in the story. In the
synopsis you will see it said “fate was laughing at Julia…..” well I
don’t think fate had anything to do with her story, I think her fear and weak
spirit was what caused her to lose so many happy years in her life.
So
many times I wanted to scream at her to wake up and go check out the things she
was hearing. If rumors and threats were confirmed then find a lawyer to
fight for you, at least have enough desire to rescue your children from the
life she had with Charles. Julia’s story was always one step forward and
two steps back, even if it was just a hint of Charles memory that was enough to
send her back those two steps. Luke was a dream come true, I think had I
been in this situation I would have wondered if he was a bit too good to be
true, but I can see her falling in love with him. What I am still left
wondering is why she didn’t trust him enough to help her and protect her and
her children in order for them to be together. I explained Julia to a
friend as an orchid, you have to be timely and precise in your treatment of
her, she is easy to damage, intimidate and destroy, but she is also easy to
find beauty in and to love.
Some
blame Charles for tearing Julia and Luke apart, but I have to place the blame
on Julia and Luke. They both could have fought for each other but they
each gave up in their own ways, which made their reunion lack luster for
me. This might be where fate comes into the story, but I personally still
give the credit to choices they made.
So
my confusion about how I feel regarding this story is due to the brilliance of
the author. She kept Julia real, so real in fact it was easy for myself
as part of society to judge her and mark her with the disgrace to all women
brand. I am not proud of myself for getting angry at her, the author did
a wonderful job at showing us the life of a woman who has been beat down by her
husband, made bad choices out of trying to escape, kept secrets out of fear and
just spent each day trying to survive and be there for her children. She
also gave us a look into her world when she found the ounce of courage she
possessed and took the chance without thinking it through. To just say
screw the risks I am tired of not living. I think the author painted a
pretty clear picture of how society views women who are in abusive situations
and why they become a victim to ridicule as well as the abuse.
Luke,
oh Luke…how I would have loved for him to have slammed his hand down on
the table and yell at Julia once he found out the secret. I wonder how
long she would have stayed silent if events hadn’t unfolded as they did.
Once again the author shows us how we tend to convict the man who shows the pain
he is in while giving the love and forgiveness to the woman he desires.
We call him weak but I think after the emotions I felt died down, he showed
just how strong he really was.
I
will admit if it was just these issues that frustrated me I would have given a
4 rating, but I did find a lot of the book dragging and my mind begging me to
put it down and walk away. I couldn’t do that though because with the
author’s style, I felt I would gain the answers soon and it would pick up
again. I just wanted to see that consistent back and forth throughout the
whole book, not just at the beginning and end.
Finding
Julia
was not the Desiree Holt book for me. I’ve read several of Ms. Holt’s novellas
and books and find her writing style to be quite enjoyable. The same holds true
for this book. She has produced a cast of characters in this book that were,
for the most part, rather entertaining – even the ones you’re meant to hate.
However, for me, I didn’t like Julia much at all. She had moments here and
there during which I found her likeable, but for the most part she annoyed me
and pissed me off. Her martyr syndrome got to be way too much and I just wanted
to take her out to a big body of water and drown her. At about 75% into the
book I finally realized why I disliked her character … she reminded me of an
ostrich with her head buried in the sand. This is not to say that she wasn’t
dealing with some serious situations – because she most definitely was – but
the things she agreed to do just to avoid confrontations with her prick of a
husband (soon-to-be ex) were mindboggling for me. I kept waiting for her to say
enough is enough.
Fortunately it was Luke and the
supporting cast of characters that made this book palatable for me. While I was
rooting for Luke and Julia to get together, it had nothing to do with her and
everything to do with Luke being happy and Julia made him happy. The fact that
he obviously knew his way around a woman’s body made for some STEAMY sex
scenes. Claire and her husband were a wonderful support system for Julia, with
Claire providing reality checks as need. I loved the relationship she had with
Miranda, the live-in nanny/housekeeper/cook – it went far beyond
employer-employee and made Miranda yet another individual in her corner.
While there were references to her
past, I never felt like an actual explanation was given as to why she married
and then stayed with her husband. Maybe a better understanding of Julia would
have enabled me to connect her, but it just wasn’t meant to be. With all that
said, do not allow my dislike of Julia to sway you against the book. Ms. Holt
is an excellent writer and Finding Julia
is a well-crafted novel. I suggest you download a sample and check it out for
yourself. Just because I didn’t like Julia, doesn’t mean you won’t. You may
love Finding Julia because ultimately
it is the story of a woman who finds herself and the trials and tribulations
she endures to get there.
Desiree Holt has lived a life of excitement that brings the color to her writing. She spent several years in the music business representing every kind of artist from country singer to heavy metal rock bands. For several years she also ran her own public relations agency handling any client that interested her. She is twice a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award, a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year Award at The Romance Studio, and is published by four different houses. Romance Junkies said of her work: "Desiree Holt is the most amazing erotica author of our time and each story is more fulfilling then the last."When she's not writing she's traveling Texas and, in season, obsessively watching football.
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