Guiding Light: Jonathan's Story

by Julia London, Alina Adams

From New York Times bestselling author Julia London comes the passionate, suspenseful novel based on Guiding Light , the 2007 Emmy Award-winning daytime drama. When his true love Tammy Winslow died saving his life, Jonathan Randall had only one reason left for his baby daughter Sarah. But Sarah's great-grandfather, powerful millionaire Alan Spaulding, was obsessed with bringing her up himself. Faking his death, Jonathan fled Springfield, leaving only his mother Reva Shayne aware he and Sarah were still alive. After being on the run for months, Jonathan comes to the sleepy town of Tourmaline, California, with no intention of staying. But ten-month-old Sarah seems strangely happy here, and Jonathan himself feels an inexplicable pull toward the town. It's almost as if Tammy's ghost were whispering to him that he should stay for a while. But life is hard for a bad boy trying to turn good, until a local young woman comes into his life. Aubrey Cross isn't quite sure what attracts her to this stranger in Tourmaline. Perhaps it's his dark good looks; perhaps it's because she too has always felt as if she doesn't belong in Tourmaline, even though her father is the popular town sheriff. Aubrey alone knows that this pillar of the community is in reality a sadistic abuser. And, of course, with a past like Jonathan's, it's no surprise that life doesn't stay peaceful in Tourmaline for long. Sheriff Zeke Cross is sure there are some secrets buried, and he's not going to rest until he uncovers them. Can Reva protect Jonathan and Sarah before they're discovered by the dangerous Alan Spaulding? Featuring some of Guiding Light's favorite characters, Jonathan's Story is the passionate tale of how Jonathan may have finally found a second chance for true love...but who knows better than Jonathan how quickly everything you love can be ripped away from you?

Genres: Romance, Fiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of more than two dozen romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular historical romance series, the Cabot Sisters, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch, and The Perfect Homecoming.

Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. To keep up with all the Julia London news, please visit http://www.julialondon.com. Follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/julialondon

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guiding Light was the longest running television soap opera, airing from 1937 to 1952 on radio, and then from 1952 until 2009 on TV. I became hooked on it the summer I turned 13 and had a lot of free time on my hands. I watched it for 15+ years, faithfully recording it on my VCR while I was at school and then when I went to college. It wasn't easy explaining why a 21 year old guy had to record a show on the VCR for an hour a day. And I would get crabby whenever I missed it!



By 2000, the show was on a decline, in part due to the months-long televised OJ Simpson trial. End result, Guiding Light pulled out all the stops to try and retain more viewership. One of those attempts was publishing a book about a few of the most memorable characters, and it was called Guiding Light: Jonathan's Story, by Julia London.

As I was a huge fan, I had to read it; however, if you only watched the show, and didn't know about the book, things were happening off screen to the characters that you never knew about. And that just felt odd.

When I checked my "read" books today to see what I needed to write a review on, this one showed up, and I saw that of about 1000 Goodreads friends as of today, 0 had read this book. Hilarious! So I'm not going to convince you to read it. And you're probably thinking...



All I can say is... when you love a TV show, you'll read anything about the characters. And while the book wasn't bad, it was just a bit odd for me to read it and then watch a different story line on TV. I applaud the show for trying this method tho!

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

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[Shanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

It Just didn't keep me engaged. I found myself distracted while reading.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently re-read this book after watching old episodes of GL on youtube and I forgot how amazing this book is! Love Guiding Light.

[Audrey Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

intriguing tale

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

When "bad boy" Jonathan Randall fakes his and his daughter's death in Springfield, he is protecting his daughter from her great-grandfather Alan Spaulding. The wealthy billionaire is convinced that Sarah Randall is his to raise.

Reva Shayne, Jonathan's mother, has her own need to protect them both. She believes she could have done more to protect Jonathan as a child. She knows that Jonathan and Sarah are on the run, and they keep in touch via a prearranged set of signals.

Tammy Winslow, Jonathan's wife and love, died at the hand of Alan Spaulding, when he was trying to kill Jonathan. So her spirit is guiding him and Sarah as they journey away from the threat that stalks them.

In this captivating spin-off from Guiding Light, the now defunct soap opera, "Guiding Light: Jonathan's Story" provides a glimpse of the life lived by the presumed dead Jonathan, and how he finally starts to move on from the past.

In Tourmaline, California, Jonathan starts to think that he may have found a place to finally settle down. And the gorgeous Aubrey Cross seems like a kindred spirit and someone who can help him do that. But just as they finally begin to trust in one another, a dark and ominous presence hovers over them in the form of her abusive father, Sheriff Zeke Cross. How did Zeke find the evidence he needed in order to maintain control over Aubrey? How will he use Jonathan's secrets to betray him?

I loved the soap Guiding Light, and when this book was published, it was still a viable series. I loved reading the book and discovering Jonathan's journey into the light of his future with his new love. I felt as though the characters were real, since I watched them on the show for many years. I would recommend this book to anyone who ever enjoyed the soap, as well as others who love a good romantic suspense tale. Five stars.

[Tina P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I grew up as a fan watching the show. I have always loved Reba Shane Lewis and her blunt no holds barred truths in the show and Jonathan was every bit his Momma's boy. I loved this story. The only negative I can say is that after the book when he returned to town they hardly even touched on that story in the show. It should have been a bigger story in the show to let us have closure to their love story. Other than that it was written very well. It was a quick read and I enjoyed every minute with Jonathan.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for GL fans. Jonathon is one of my favorite characters from the show and that the only reason I picked it up. The book is really well written, I really enjoyed it. You get to find out just what Jonathan has been up to since he left Springfield, and you get to meet a new love interest of his. Another one of those books I just found hard to put down. The writer really captured the characters very well.

[Julie Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this A LOT more than I expected to. I was a true fan of The Guiding Light and was a mess when they cancelled it. Jonathan was one of my favorite characters on the show and I wasn't sure how he would translate in print. Turns out I was worried about nothing. I think I like him even more now. The only complaint I have is that reading this made me miss my soap more than ever and I will be spending some time searching for old episodes on the internet!

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HAD to read this book when I found out Jonathan was coming back to Guiding Light....however short lived. It was a great book that took one of the best story lines from the show and let you know just what Jonathan and his little girl had been up to and where they had been from when they first left the show until right before the characters returned.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the Soap Opera Guiding Light then I reccomend Guiding Light:Jonathan's Story.

It tells the story of what Jonathan did after he lost Tammy, faked his death and his daughter's, Sara, to escape Springfield and get far away from Alan Spaulding to protect his daughter.

I was disappointed to hear that Guiding Light is being cancelled in Sept. I'm gonna miss it.

[Shaun · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that it had a more satisfying ending than I had expected. But following the show at that time it was confusing (since I hadn't read the book then). I thought it was true romance type book. I wonder if they will do Coop's book?

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hard cover left me wanting more. it's from the soap opera Guiding light when he was on then left. they came out with a paperback that just had a finishing chater at the end. I was unable to find it here so i added it here.it left me feeling content but wishing he would come back to the show.

[Ivy]

Very interesting, so far..

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's written very elementary but still was interesting. However the end of the story doesn't seem to jive very well with what I've seen on the show ... where is Aubrey today?? They left together.

[Wendy]

I've been a Guiding Light fan for over 25 years. I like how they let you know where this character went, even though he did return to the story.

[Linny Delacroix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book although I wish they carried the story over to GL.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Guiding Light...read this book!!

[E.d. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash but not in a good way. I am a fan of the show who realizes after reading this book that a lot of the depth added to the writing comes from the performances. Honestly, I've read better fanfic.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the back story of a soap opera, so expect soap opera scences plus. It had way too much explicit sex for my taste but overall I liked it.