Never the Moon

by Rita H. Rowe

The stars may be determined to keep them apart but the moon has other plans.

When David, the man she desperately loves, marries another woman, Jennifer feels like her world has ended. Fleeing to New York to begin a new life she meets Jack, strong, handsome and entitled, someone who can give her everything she desires. But Jack is not all he seems and his dark side emerges along with his past, once he has Jennifer in his possession.

Never the Moon interweaves the lives of Jennifer, David and Jack in a story of passion and betrayal, revealing the power of love and the destruction it can leave in its wake.

ebook

Published May 1, 2020

About the author

Rita Rowe is a teacher and author with a Bachelor of Arts, a Diploma of Education, and a Masters in Writing. Her journey into writing began as a lifelong dream that she was finally able to pursue at the age of forty-seven, resulting in her first novel, Never the Moon. Rita pours her heart and soul into her writing, incorporating her personal experiences with love, romance, hurt, and abuse. To Rita, writing is both a form of therapy and a way to connect with like-minded readers on a deeper level. As an author, Rita hopes to be remembered as someone who created worlds that readers could lose themselves in, even just for a little while. When she isn’t writing, Rita enjoys playing pool, painting, going on motorbike rides, and spending time with her children and mother.

Reviews

[Stephanie Runyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rita H. Rowe’s Never The Moon is a romance novel featuring Jennifer, who dreams of leaving her small town for New York City. Then she meets David. David was everything that Jennifer wanted in a husband. Throughout the summer, the couple was always together. David wanted to stay with her, but the summer was ending, and he had to return to Boston to continue school. They promised to write letters, and Jennifer remains in love with David. However, his letters became more sporadic and then stopped. David’s aunt receives an invitation to his wedding in Boston. Jennifer, crushed, moves to New York. She rents an apartment with her best friend. She began a successful modeling career and met Jack at one of her company parties. They fall in love and Jack proposes to Jennifer. As she is leaving for her wedding reception, Jennifer sees David. Why is he in New York? How does Jack know who David is?
This novel tortured my heart with the life that Jennifer led. I could understand Jennifer’s heartbreak when she discovers David is getting married less than a year after he said she was his soulmate. However, David could have resolved this by telling her about a commitment he had already made. He should not have entertained the start of a summer relationship. Jack’s involvement in the story scared me. He seemed obsessed with Jennifer from the moment he saw her picture at David’s house. His proposal was creepy, as he was waiting for her inside her apartment, and had never been to it before. Jennifer’s development into maturity and having the ability to stand on her own was admirable. The end of the story was heartbreaking for me. Rowe conveyed a powerful message of resilience throughout Never The Moon. Readers who enjoy romance novels involving relatable characters will like the story.

[Dorothy Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer meets her perfect match, David, at a tender age, and it's the best summer of her life. But Fate has endeavored to keep them apart, year after year after year.

When we first meet Jennifer, she's married to Jack, a domestic abuser (trigger warning). Charming as he is, he's simply not David, the young man who stole her heart so many years ago. When Jennifer and David had parted, they agreed to look at the moon every night, and they continue to do just that as they yearn to be with the person they love most, despite all the hurdles that come their way. Whenever one of them was single, the other was dating (or engaged, or married) and vice versa. It was a tragic tale of star-crossed lovers.

The author did an amazing job of creating the backstory for David and Jack. All their lives are intertwined in such a way that it is easy to understand why Jack turned out as awful as he did. David is a tragic hero, always yearning for more, striving to be the kind of man who could make Jennifer proud, but his efforts always seem to put him further behind when it comes to human hearts.

This love triangle suffered so much that by the time I reached the end, I wasn't ready for it to be over! I could read an entire book based on the last chapter alone and I would love for the author to make a HUGE epilogue.

[Becca Fitzpatrick (bookscandlescats) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never the Moon is another fantastic novel by Rita H Rowe.

I really enjoyed the writing style. The author includes the perfect amount of detail in each chapter to keep the novel short and sweet.

I loved the multiple POV's, and the characters were great. I felt sympathy for Jennifer when she was really struggling with what to do at certain points in the book, but at the same time I just wanted to shake her and tell her she was doing the wrong thing.

Overall this was an entertaining novel with an interesting story about soul mates and love.

I definitely recommend giving this one a read!

[_sassy_39 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rita H Rowe has a strong grip in writing romance stories. 'Never The Moon' is another interesting story penned by the author.

Main character of the story is Jennifer. She lives with her mother Judy and sister Elle. Her father died when Jennifer was twelve. He left his family penniless and in debt.

Jennifer's hopes for a better life depends on a guy. David was the guy who came into her life. But after losing David, as she moved forward in life and met Jack, they got married. Jack is handsome, tall, charming but he is also the wife beater. He has hit Jen many times and once even Jen's best friend Angel saw that. One day, when David comes back into her life, she remembers the feeling of being loved by him. She even asked David to take her away from the place they were at.

Read the story to know with whom Jennifer will stay. Story is gripping and unputdownable. This story was a perfect escape from the real world. I enjoyed every bit of the story. Rita's writing style is impressive. Go for it. It's a good book for light reading.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book by a new Australian Author. A very powerful and moving story about love and the destruction it can leave in its wake.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depressing

A story of love that doesn’t make sense and domestic abuse. I ended up not liking any of the main characters and feeling like the author didn’t completely understand the subjects she was writing about. Probably the closest she got was with Jack, the abusive husband. I became totally annoyed with Jennifer, who wouldn’t leave him. Yes, it’s hard and dangerous, but it can be done. I know, because I’ve helped people do it. Also, she doesn’t seem to have a good understanding of epilepsy. I lost some patience with the poor writing and lack of editing but plowed through to the depressing end anyway.

[the bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

So some days I did not get to read, but finished this book
So this is more of 4.5 stars, it wasn’t the best I have read, it is good, but it is not a favourite
I still recommend this book,
I was tearing up in the end, so it has emotional effect on me
Longer review coming for medium