When Kelly MacLeod becomes a Massachusetts Family Court judge, she is determined to do what is right. Young, brilliant, and engaged to the perfect guy, she feels truly ready to begin her new appointment. With all her dreams coming true, Kelly never envisions what might go wrong...
Then a chance meeting with a man in a cemetery awakens an unexpected passion in Kelly. Agreeing not to reveal their names to each other, Kelly and the stranger begin an illicit affair.
Anne Madison, a respected state reformer with political aspirations, wants custody of her twelve-year-old adopted daughter, Tessa. So does Anne's soon-to-be ex-husband Randall Madison - a prominent physician. Tessa is caught in the middle of her parents emotional tug-of-war.
On the brink of adolescence, Tessa is just beginning to discover her own sexuality. She also wonders who her birth mother is. Troubled by this and pulled in too many directions, she tries to please those she loves at a cost that just might be too high.
Kelly MacLeod gets drawn into this family's legal and personal tribulations. How does one effectively balance public service with private desires? What does it mean - legally and emotionally - to be a family? How does someone move past anger and sorrow toward compassion and wisdom? How do adults learn to temper their own wills with the best needs of the child? What is right when one's own deepest emotions clash with the law?
Kelly's involvement with this particular case leads her to question issues within her own personal life. In order to answer these myriad questions, Kelly must grapple with her career as a judge and assess her mysterious new lover, her own past, and the complications of many kinds of love.
In my opinion, this book was very well-written and the plot was certainly engrossing. However, while I enjoyed reading it, I found the story to be quite a stretch for the imagination. Overall, I give this book an A!
Then a chance meeting with a man in a cemetery awakens an unexpected passion in Kelly. Agreeing not to reveal their names to each other, Kelly and the stranger begin an illicit affair.
Anne Madison, a respected state reformer with political aspirations, wants custody of her twelve-year-old adopted daughter, Tessa. So does Anne's soon-to-be ex-husband Randall Madison - a prominent physician. Tessa is caught in the middle of her parents emotional tug-of-war.
On the brink of adolescence, Tessa is just beginning to discover her own sexuality. She also wonders who her birth mother is. Troubled by this and pulled in too many directions, she tries to please those she loves at a cost that just might be too high.
Kelly MacLeod gets drawn into this family's legal and personal tribulations. How does one effectively balance public service with private desires? What does it mean - legally and emotionally - to be a family? How does someone move past anger and sorrow toward compassion and wisdom? How do adults learn to temper their own wills with the best needs of the child? What is right when one's own deepest emotions clash with the law?
Kelly's involvement with this particular case leads her to question issues within her own personal life. In order to answer these myriad questions, Kelly must grapple with her career as a judge and assess her mysterious new lover, her own past, and the complications of many kinds of love.
In my opinion, this book was very well-written and the plot was certainly engrossing. However, while I enjoyed reading it, I found the story to be quite a stretch for the imagination. Overall, I give this book an A!
I read this book in one day, it was very predictable for the beginning, but i enjoyed it.
This is not a book that I would normally pick...but I got it for free and figured that any book is worth a try!
I spent most of the first half of the book wondering why the author made the plot so easy to figure out! You can guess the end from the 3rd or 4th chapter. I even considered not finishing the book out of spite. But instead I was compeled to finish the book just to see how the characters (who are very strongly written) would react to the news that the reader could see from the beginning.
Not the best book but fine for an easy read.
I spent most of the first half of the book wondering why the author made the plot so easy to figure out! You can guess the end from the 3rd or 4th chapter. I even considered not finishing the book out of spite. But instead I was compeled to finish the book just to see how the characters (who are very strongly written) would react to the news that the reader could see from the beginning.
Not the best book but fine for an easy read.
Awesome book! Kept me guessing until the end.
