From her first release, Pat Warren has
become one of America's most beloved authors. She's
an award-winning author who's
garnered critical acclaim
from the likes of "Romantic Times", "Affaire
de Coeur" and "The Paperback Forum". Each of
her books are full of suspense, based on realistic characters
and plays on every emotion in the human psyche. And drawing
on the elements of other genre, Warren's books have continued
to be National Bestsellers. "Come Morning" is no different.
Staged in the Autumn on Nantucket Island, emotions are already
high when Briana Morgan and JD Slade are drawn together. Nantucket
is the island home of Briana's grandfather and she knows the
residents well. JD Slade has recently inherited his father's
house beside Briana's grandfather's house and must decide whether
he will stay on the island and where his life goes from here.
Little Annie Reed pulls at heartstrings, while Craig Walker
pulls us to the edge of insanity. It's Irma Tatum that Briana
looks up to and loves like a mother.
Not long after divorcing a man that loved
his career more than his family, photographer Briana Morgan
finds herself facing every parents worst nightmare. She's
taken her son to meet up with his father for their court appointed
meeting. After crossing the street, leaving them behind, she
hears a car backfiring and turns to see what the sudden commotion
is. What she'd heard was gun fire and her son and ex-husband
are laying on the pavement. Four months later Briana finds
herself facing another loss. Her beloved grandfather has been
placed in a nursing home in the final stages of Alzheimer's.
His Will gives Briana his home on Nantucket Island and it's
here that she goes to face the death of her son, which has
caused her to become a recluse with a depression so deep she
questions her own existence. Making matters worse, Briana
must constantly fight off the affections of her ex-husbands
partner, Craig Walker, who follows her to Nantucket Island.
It's neighbor JD Slade that gives her a feeling of security
when Briana becomes the object of a mysterious stalker. JD's
own needs draw Briana out of her shell and soon she finds
herself falling in love.
Firefighter JD Slade has come to Nantucket
Island after the death of his father, Jeremy Slade, who had
left his family when JD was very young. In coming to Nantucket,
JD hopes to learn what drove his father from the home, and
to come to terms with a tragedy that hit him close to home.
JD had been called to fight a fire at his ex-girlfriend's
home and hadn't understood when the woman had told JD where
her daughter was in the house. He blamed himself, as she did,
for the child's death. Hardening himself against caring so
much for anyone again he holes himself up in the house of
the father that he never knew, and turns to alcohol to see
if he can make the hurt and pain go away. But when Briana
Morgan moves in next door he turns his self-destructive energies
into helping her fix up her grandfather's house. He can tolerate
the misguided affections of Craig Walker, but when a mysterious
person begins stalking he vows to protect her with his life.
Somewhere between becoming friends and lovers, he finds that
he can love again.
"Come Morning" is more than just a
story of how two people help each other through the toughest
times in their lives. It's about love, survival and bravery.
Pat Warren's use of romance mixed with suspense, mystery and
real life experiences keeps this story fast paced. Her characters
could be anyone of our next door neighbors. Though Warren's
surprise ending was a fairly predictable, and one or two characters
were out of place, I found the bulk of the book to have been
cleverly written. Her characters are likeable and settings put
the reader on Nantucket Island. More than just a story, "Come
Morning" is very sweet and full of inspiration.
