Intelligent and innocuous, Annie walks to her imminent doom,
What are the dangers over her head that still loom,
Despite the support around her, there is lingering gloom,
Will her battered heart still make love bloom?
Susan Wiggs: She is a contemporary and historical romance writer. Her books have been published in many languages.
Plot: This is an engrossing and enchanting life story of Annie Rush. Annie was born and raised in a small town called Switchback in Vermont. Coming from a family of the richest farmers in the town, she herself has a passion for growing crops, planning the harvest and preparing delicacies like cakes and muffins with the syrup of their home-grown maple trees. All set for a career in photography and film-making, she is thrilled when an opportunity of producing a cookery show lands in her path all the way from the west coast, USA. A combination of cookery and photography seems to be just the dream she had always had.
However, none of this works well for her love life. A wonderful relationship had blossomed between her and Fletcher Wyndham, her neighbor and a worker at their family farm. Despite the discouragement from her family, Annie wanted more than ever, to make things work for herself and Fletcher. They both had a unique bond. But both of them realized soon after that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work out.
Years after her recruitment as a producer, Annie has a dazzling career for herself and a dashing new husband, Martin. He is the much-admired host of her cookery show- The Key Ingredient. A devastating news and a life-threatening accident put her life at a stand-still. Struggling with internal brain injury, she stays unconscious for a year. Will she ever get up? Will her memories come flooding back? Will it change her unfaithful husband’s attitude?
Meanwhile, Fletcher has gained the post of a respected judge in Switchback. Ever since he discovered his passion for the law, he made enormous efforts to pursue his education while working on the farm. He took more odd jobs to make ends meet at home. Working his way up, from being a law graduate, a lawyer and now a judge, he certainly has acquired a name for himself. He is now settled in life with his wife Celia and his adorable little son. However, he never misses Annie’s show on TV. Will news from Annie create any fluttering in his life like ripples on a still pond?
Quotes:
Restoration and hardship had the power to corrode even the deepest love toward the most yearned-for dreams.
She took her first taste after the accident. All of her senses filled up. But then, she thought she might explode. It was the ultimate bite of sweet comfort.
Holding on to his tiny fingers, she decided that there was more healing power in a little kid’s touch than in all the hours of therapy she had.
Unfulfilled yearning had a way of eking out somehow causing invisible cracks in the foundation.
My opinion: The story is beautifully written. This is my first read of an emotional and dramatic story with no overly evil figures threatening anyone with knives and guns. The story was strong in its own right. Twists due to unfortunate events and frail human relationships make the story believable, yet entertaining. The uncertainty of the future and the pain of the past make the main characters struggle with their emotions. Annie and Fletcher are daunted at the way forward after the unexpected meeting at the crossroads and each emotion has been vividly portrayed all along their respective journeys. Usually, authors portray only the main character’s feelings. But here the reader had an insight into Annie’s as well as Fletcher’s minds.
The feelings of Annie while she was coping with her brain injury, the memories that play fast and loose with her very being are tremendously touching. For example, “I’m fine really. That thought flitted away too, on butterfly wings.” Although, I am sure to read more paperback novels by Susan Wiggs in the future, I need a couple of thrillers now for a change in the emotional scene.