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Ronnie’s Meadow #2
Lorna’s Savior
Lorna Hepplewaite finally broke free from her controlling mother and had the opportunity to live her life her way. She worked a job she loved and had a relationship on her terms. What could possibly go wrong?
Taking his first job as a private investigator after serving his county for years, Monk “Andy” Ball couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into the intriguing case. Before he even started the job, he met a woman he only planned on being with for one night only. But life seemed to keep throwing them together. He had no problem with that, none at all.
When Lorna’s controlling mother returned from vacation and realized life as she knew it was about to be taken away from her, she blamed it all on Lorna. Will Andy be able to save Lorna from the wrath her mother planned to rein down on her? Or will he be too late?
Taking his first job as a private investigator after serving his county for years, Monk “Andy” Ball couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into the intriguing case. Before he even started the job, he met a woman he only planned on being with for one night only. But life seemed to keep throwing them together. He had no problem with that, none at all.
When Lorna’s controlling mother returned from vacation and realized life as she knew it was about to be taken away from her, she blamed it all on Lorna. Will Andy be able to save Lorna from the wrath her mother planned to rein down on her? Or will he be too late?
- GenresRomance
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 20, 2021
50 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 21, 2021
I wasn’t going to write a review for this book – it is just that bad. When I saw a number of 4- and 5-star ratings on goodreads, I could not have been more surprised…then curious…that these readers are reading too many sub-par books if this one is rated that high.
The plot teeters on the edge of implausibility. An extremely wealthy man, Mr Heppelwaite (or Mr. H), is looking for his daughter (who shares his last name) and is trying to determine if his previous wife (Kristen Heppelwaite) has ever remarried. Turns out the woman has married 7 more times and no one has been able to find marriage licenses. No one has been able to find divorce decrees. No one has been able to figure out how to look up these very public records. It would appear that the extremely wealthy man with his teams of business and personal lawyers do not own a laptop, nor is there anyone in his organization with said laptop…nor laptop skills.
This extremely wealthy man has been paying over $35,000 per month to his wife to cover the mortgage on her big house and tuition for the daughter (Lorna Heppelwaite) in private school and medical bills that are astronomical since a bicycle accident injured the daughter at age 5. Huh? The daughter is costing him thousands of dollars in medical bills and attends private school concurrent with her injuries? Yeah…?
And…the medical reports, that support these large bills, are too difficult to read: no one can make “heads nor tails of” them. The extremely wealthy man and his passel of lawyers did not think of taking the reports to a physician to interpret them.
It gets worse. Either the writer is confused and has forgotten when and where she introduced her characters to each other or these characters have selective amnesia. They forget the relationships they have forged and apparently never share their last names even as professionals. There are a number of characters in the book; two of the main characters are Lorna (the daughter) and Andy (the private investigator and boyfriend). Lorna has been working successfully for several years, has received a promotion and commensurate raise in salary, for a charitable foundation currently administered by Finn. She is presented as an exemplary employee with serious interpersonal skills. Yet, at 27, she lives at home and cannot manage to get away from her controlling mother and, oh yes, she is a curvy girl who thinks she is too fat to be loved, regardless of the support she receives from friends, staff (hers and her mother’s), employer, and boyfriend, and regardless of the success she has achieved in her career. Yet she is able to go alone to a bar and dance by herself without trepidation. She is able to pick up a handsome gent (Andy) for a one-and-done without embarrassment or regret. And yet, she cannot get away from her controlling mother. When it suits the story, she is presented as a thoughtful, strong young woman and when it suits the story, she is presented as gullible, insecure and petulant as a child.
When the controlling mama goes on a 3+ month cruise, Lorna sneaks out of her mother’s house and into her own apartment. And what a coincidence: Andy (her one-and-done hookup) lives next door. And what a coincidence, part two: Andy is investigating her mother for her father (yes, the extremely wealthy man who has been bilked by said mother) and although the father has a ton of lawyers at his disposal, he is too stupid to figure out his wife has been remarried multiple times and (wait for it) his divorce was never filed. (oh, shock) Additionally, this is the same empire builder with his mega-lawyers who cannot figure out how to read a medical report.
The author appears to lose her place throughout the story starting on the first page when a character named Randy is passing out beers and is never mentioned again. I think this is a typo for Andy. Maybe the author changed his name at one time and didn’t catch all the places in the book that needed to be updated?
The story continues with a mashup of characters, each of whom seem to forget who they know, who they have met previously, even who they like. Weird. The father, mother and daughter all share the same surname. A previous private investigator couldn’t figure that one out. Even Andy appears slow on the uptake: he didn’t catch on for a while himself.
Another example of weirdness is Andy who tapes Lorna secretly while she discusses her mother with him because he’s just interested in her; he does not let one that he is investigating the mother and tasked with finding the daughter (yes, that would be Lorna). Later in the book he tells Lorna, “…I never, never used you in my investigation of your mother.” This is a blatant lie. Either the writer is forgetful or Andy is an opportunistic liar.
The book is not horribly written – the style is engaging and easy to read. But the characters are poorly presented and fairly well massacred by the writer. The plot is convoluted and deeply unbelievable. The characters are one-dimensional and too obviously used to move the plot along without consistency. The book wants serous editing – easily one-third of it could be cut to make the plot more palatable and easier to follow. Some decent proofreading is also warranted. There are too many mistakes that should have been caught by attentive beta readers.
I place partial blame on Susan Stoker. Apparently, based on a preface she includes in these Special Forces Operation Alpha books written by other writers, she allows the use of her creative world and characters by others. Why? She has allowed some fascinating characters to have been badly manipulated by writers who have not done their research and who have hurt some pretty interesting personalities. If she allows access to her own creative properties, I would expect pride would lead her to do more than brainstorm a bit on plots; perhaps she could actually read some of these stories before they go to print. Most are not of Ms. Stoker’s caliber. Almost to a book, they need thorough proofreading and conscientious editing. This book is no exception…sadly.
The plot teeters on the edge of implausibility. An extremely wealthy man, Mr Heppelwaite (or Mr. H), is looking for his daughter (who shares his last name) and is trying to determine if his previous wife (Kristen Heppelwaite) has ever remarried. Turns out the woman has married 7 more times and no one has been able to find marriage licenses. No one has been able to find divorce decrees. No one has been able to figure out how to look up these very public records. It would appear that the extremely wealthy man with his teams of business and personal lawyers do not own a laptop, nor is there anyone in his organization with said laptop…nor laptop skills.
This extremely wealthy man has been paying over $35,000 per month to his wife to cover the mortgage on her big house and tuition for the daughter (Lorna Heppelwaite) in private school and medical bills that are astronomical since a bicycle accident injured the daughter at age 5. Huh? The daughter is costing him thousands of dollars in medical bills and attends private school concurrent with her injuries? Yeah…?
And…the medical reports, that support these large bills, are too difficult to read: no one can make “heads nor tails of” them. The extremely wealthy man and his passel of lawyers did not think of taking the reports to a physician to interpret them.
It gets worse. Either the writer is confused and has forgotten when and where she introduced her characters to each other or these characters have selective amnesia. They forget the relationships they have forged and apparently never share their last names even as professionals. There are a number of characters in the book; two of the main characters are Lorna (the daughter) and Andy (the private investigator and boyfriend). Lorna has been working successfully for several years, has received a promotion and commensurate raise in salary, for a charitable foundation currently administered by Finn. She is presented as an exemplary employee with serious interpersonal skills. Yet, at 27, she lives at home and cannot manage to get away from her controlling mother and, oh yes, she is a curvy girl who thinks she is too fat to be loved, regardless of the support she receives from friends, staff (hers and her mother’s), employer, and boyfriend, and regardless of the success she has achieved in her career. Yet she is able to go alone to a bar and dance by herself without trepidation. She is able to pick up a handsome gent (Andy) for a one-and-done without embarrassment or regret. And yet, she cannot get away from her controlling mother. When it suits the story, she is presented as a thoughtful, strong young woman and when it suits the story, she is presented as gullible, insecure and petulant as a child.
When the controlling mama goes on a 3+ month cruise, Lorna sneaks out of her mother’s house and into her own apartment. And what a coincidence: Andy (her one-and-done hookup) lives next door. And what a coincidence, part two: Andy is investigating her mother for her father (yes, the extremely wealthy man who has been bilked by said mother) and although the father has a ton of lawyers at his disposal, he is too stupid to figure out his wife has been remarried multiple times and (wait for it) his divorce was never filed. (oh, shock) Additionally, this is the same empire builder with his mega-lawyers who cannot figure out how to read a medical report.
The author appears to lose her place throughout the story starting on the first page when a character named Randy is passing out beers and is never mentioned again. I think this is a typo for Andy. Maybe the author changed his name at one time and didn’t catch all the places in the book that needed to be updated?
The story continues with a mashup of characters, each of whom seem to forget who they know, who they have met previously, even who they like. Weird. The father, mother and daughter all share the same surname. A previous private investigator couldn’t figure that one out. Even Andy appears slow on the uptake: he didn’t catch on for a while himself.
Another example of weirdness is Andy who tapes Lorna secretly while she discusses her mother with him because he’s just interested in her; he does not let one that he is investigating the mother and tasked with finding the daughter (yes, that would be Lorna). Later in the book he tells Lorna, “…I never, never used you in my investigation of your mother.” This is a blatant lie. Either the writer is forgetful or Andy is an opportunistic liar.
The book is not horribly written – the style is engaging and easy to read. But the characters are poorly presented and fairly well massacred by the writer. The plot is convoluted and deeply unbelievable. The characters are one-dimensional and too obviously used to move the plot along without consistency. The book wants serous editing – easily one-third of it could be cut to make the plot more palatable and easier to follow. Some decent proofreading is also warranted. There are too many mistakes that should have been caught by attentive beta readers.
I place partial blame on Susan Stoker. Apparently, based on a preface she includes in these Special Forces Operation Alpha books written by other writers, she allows the use of her creative world and characters by others. Why? She has allowed some fascinating characters to have been badly manipulated by writers who have not done their research and who have hurt some pretty interesting personalities. If she allows access to her own creative properties, I would expect pride would lead her to do more than brainstorm a bit on plots; perhaps she could actually read some of these stories before they go to print. Most are not of Ms. Stoker’s caliber. Almost to a book, they need thorough proofreading and conscientious editing. This book is no exception…sadly.
August 11, 2024
MONK, wow, that's funny
Oh my goodness, you guys! The hero in this book actually got his name from none other than Adrian Monk—yep, you heard that right! He’s that quirky, lovable character played by Tony Shalhoub in the super fun TV show that aired from 2002 to 2009. Can you believe it’s been 21 years? Time flies! Now, while this little tidbit might not be the game-changer for every reader, knowing that the hero is actully in his 30's, it definitely adds a delightful twist to the witty wordplay that Lorna uses when she’s figuring out how to swap out curse words. Isn’t that just the cherry on top?
Oh my goodness, you guys! The hero in this book actually got his name from none other than Adrian Monk—yep, you heard that right! He’s that quirky, lovable character played by Tony Shalhoub in the super fun TV show that aired from 2002 to 2009. Can you believe it’s been 21 years? Time flies! Now, while this little tidbit might not be the game-changer for every reader, knowing that the hero is actully in his 30's, it definitely adds a delightful twist to the witty wordplay that Lorna uses when she’s figuring out how to swap out curse words. Isn’t that just the cherry on top?
September 6, 2021
Saved!
What I liked about Lorna is how she can forgive and how she saves herself first. What I like about Andy is his ability to reassess and to love fully. This story was unique even as it incorporated previous info and characters. Mommy Dearest, Kristen, is a piece of work. One disappointment: too many missed editing errors, such as "backet" instead of basket and didn't Eric name his puppy "Sasha", not " Tanya"? Still, I am a new Rowley fan.
What I liked about Lorna is how she can forgive and how she saves herself first. What I like about Andy is his ability to reassess and to love fully. This story was unique even as it incorporated previous info and characters. Mommy Dearest, Kristen, is a piece of work. One disappointment: too many missed editing errors, such as "backet" instead of basket and didn't Eric name his puppy "Sasha", not " Tanya"? Still, I am a new Rowley fan.
November 12, 2021
Excellent
Lorna had a terrible mother. She called her fat and ugly and told her she couldn't move out till she was 30. Lornas mother told her she was going on a 3 month cruise. The day she left Lorna packed up and got herself a new apartment. Her first day away on her own she decided to celebrate and that is where she met Andy. They had a one night stand. No names were exchanged. A couple of days later they discovered they were neighbors. Such a good story.
Lorna had a terrible mother. She called her fat and ugly and told her she couldn't move out till she was 30. Lornas mother told her she was going on a 3 month cruise. The day she left Lorna packed up and got herself a new apartment. Her first day away on her own she decided to celebrate and that is where she met Andy. They had a one night stand. No names were exchanged. A couple of days later they discovered they were neighbors. Such a good story.
October 14, 2021
Lorna’s Savior
This was an excellent book!! I truly enjoyed reading about Lorna’s courage to fight for her own life & freedom from her mother. The love story of her and Andy was even better. I couldn’t this book down👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
This was an excellent book!! I truly enjoyed reading about Lorna’s courage to fight for her own life & freedom from her mother. The love story of her and Andy was even better. I couldn’t this book down👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
November 5, 2021
Lorna found her backbone, an apartment, her father and a man while her mother is on vacation.
How one woman could be so mean, but good things come to those that wait, and bad things come to those that are bad. Well done Author Deanna
How one woman could be so mean, but good things come to those that wait, and bad things come to those that are bad. Well done Author Deanna
February 23, 2022
loved it
This was an emotional story but in a good way. The girl finds her backbone and stands up for herself and actually meets a guy who will always love her and never let her be a wallflower.
Terrific story and I love the series.
This was an emotional story but in a good way. The girl finds her backbone and stands up for herself and actually meets a guy who will always love her and never let her be a wallflower.
Terrific story and I love the series.
July 21, 2021
Review of Lorna's Savior
I really enjoyed this book and I will recommend her books to anyone who loves romance novels. She is a good writer.
I really enjoyed this book and I will recommend her books to anyone who loves romance novels. She is a good writer.
July 26, 2021
This went on and on to long for me.
August 12, 2021
Chandra's Review
I truly enjoyed reading this book it was loving, sexy, intriguing, and full of action! I would definitely recommend this book to read!👏🏾👏🏾🤗🤗
I truly enjoyed reading this book it was loving, sexy, intriguing, and full of action! I would definitely recommend this book to read!👏🏾👏🏾🤗🤗
November 29, 2021
Very good!!
Lorna and Andy meet at a club. They end up at a motel but don't exchange names. Lorna snuck out in the middle of the night.
Lorna has moved out while her mother is gone. She can't stand the fact the way her mother treats her.
Andy is a private investigator. He has been hired to find out everything about a woman. In the mean time, he has a new neighbor who happens to be Lorna and they are getting to know each other.
Lorna has been kidnapped by a man her mother hired. Lucky and Grover and Brian who happens to be Andy's cousin is visiting when they find out Lorna is missing. Will they find her? What happens to her mother? Will Lorna forgive Andy?
Lorna and Andy meet at a club. They end up at a motel but don't exchange names. Lorna snuck out in the middle of the night.
Lorna has moved out while her mother is gone. She can't stand the fact the way her mother treats her.
Andy is a private investigator. He has been hired to find out everything about a woman. In the mean time, he has a new neighbor who happens to be Lorna and they are getting to know each other.
Lorna has been kidnapped by a man her mother hired. Lucky and Grover and Brian who happens to be Andy's cousin is visiting when they find out Lorna is missing. Will they find her? What happens to her mother? Will Lorna forgive Andy?
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews