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Return to Redlin
Return to Redlin is a romantic adventure novella
Ginger returned to Redlin after her failed marriage and buried herself in a calm life, working for the Senior Center during the day and as a clerk at the Gas and More at night. But when the high school bad boy, Derrick Weston, returns after ten years to attend his grandfather's funeral, things take off in ways she didn't expect.
Old rivalries and new robberies put the two in close contact -- whether they want it or not.
Ginger returned to Redlin after her failed marriage and buried herself in a calm life, working for the Senior Center during the day and as a clerk at the Gas and More at night. But when the high school bad boy, Derrick Weston, returns after ten years to attend his grandfather's funeral, things take off in ways she didn't expect.
Old rivalries and new robberies put the two in close contact -- whether they want it or not.
- GenresRomance
ebook
First published February 7, 2011
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 18, 2011
Interesting story. Ending seems incomplete and lacking
July 16, 2011
From the first pages, I was rooting for bad-boy hero Derrick Weston— Or is that used-to-be-bad-boy hero Derrick Weston? He definitely has secrets, and he's got stuff happening in his life and in his heart and in his mind, and it's bound to cause him trouble. I was rooting for him, and rooting through his psyche. A wonderful, three-dimensional character, who did not let me down.
The heroine and narrator of the story? She started off feeling to me like a "Bella Swan," just along for the ride... Which I guess would have been a fine choice à la Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes (though not usually one that lends itself to a "romance" story). She did grow stronger as the story went on, although this novella turned out to be more suspenseful than romantic.
My biggest gripe was that the prose (at least of the edition that I read) really needed to be edited. (Prose that Twilight fans would be comfortable with. I am not a Twilight fan.) I found myself constantly falling into line-edit mode: Delete that sentence; it adds nothing to the story. Or Get rid of the copulative, strengthen verbs, and elide redundant adjectives: ‘The night felt chilly and uninviting as I pulled the jacket collar up around my neck, trying to block out the invasive cold.’ Change to: ‘I huddled within my jacket collar, as the night chill invaded my body.’
But overall, it was a not-half-bad story—which means it was more than half good. Good, pretty solid characters (which seem so hard to come by nowadays). A compelling plot. A charming, small-town milieu (although in my experience, people from rural areas are more friendly than that—out in the country, y'all have to watch out for each other, and they do). Based on this short novella, I would try another of Lazette Gifford's works, one of her novels, and I intend to.
-TimK
The heroine and narrator of the story? She started off feeling to me like a "Bella Swan," just along for the ride... Which I guess would have been a fine choice à la Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes (though not usually one that lends itself to a "romance" story). She did grow stronger as the story went on, although this novella turned out to be more suspenseful than romantic.
My biggest gripe was that the prose (at least of the edition that I read) really needed to be edited. (Prose that Twilight fans would be comfortable with. I am not a Twilight fan.) I found myself constantly falling into line-edit mode: Delete that sentence; it adds nothing to the story. Or Get rid of the copulative, strengthen verbs, and elide redundant adjectives: ‘The night felt chilly and uninviting as I pulled the jacket collar up around my neck, trying to block out the invasive cold.’ Change to: ‘I huddled within my jacket collar, as the night chill invaded my body.’
But overall, it was a not-half-bad story—which means it was more than half good. Good, pretty solid characters (which seem so hard to come by nowadays). A compelling plot. A charming, small-town milieu (although in my experience, people from rural areas are more friendly than that—out in the country, y'all have to watch out for each other, and they do). Based on this short novella, I would try another of Lazette Gifford's works, one of her novels, and I intend to.
-TimK
May 12, 2013
Ginger held down two jobs in Redlin. During the day she worked at a senior citizens center and at nights at a quick stop store owned by her uncle. She returned to Redlin after her divorce and just went through the motions of having a life, always making sure she was busy. Into her humdrum world,walked Derrick. He also had just retuned to Redlin but due to the death of a grandfather he did not really know. Derrick's appearance upset plans of his stepfather and his stepbrother, who is hitting on Ginger, and not in a kindly manner. Things escalate quickly to the day of the funeral when everything comes to a confrontation. Good novel for escapism reading with characters who are believable. However, the story line is easily determined early in the book with no real suprises or twists.
March 19, 2012
I really enjoyed this story. Some romance stories hit you over the head with the desire between the main characters. This had a subtle and, to my mind, a more believable attraction. I liked the action and suspense. Couldn't put the story down until I was done.
January 18, 2012
It would have been nice to have a little bit more detail for at the end... Still a nice story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews