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The You I Never Knew
Michelle thought she lost everything at seventeen. Her father, a Hollywood legend, had finally summoned her to his Montana ranch. But when he learned of her affair with Sam, a hired hand, he had Sam fired and destroyed his family. Michelle, pregnant, fled to Seattle.
There, she is successful and safe--safe from love, safe from hurt. But her son is lost to her, a troubled teen on the verge of self-destruction, a boy who blames her for the absence of his father and grandfather. And then her father calls to tell her he is dying. He has only one chance to live--if she will donate a kidney to save him. So she goes, resolved to save her father, terrified to face Sam, but driven by desperation to save her son. To do that, she must face all the secrets of the past and find a way to heal the scars and love again.
There, she is successful and safe--safe from love, safe from hurt. But her son is lost to her, a troubled teen on the verge of self-destruction, a boy who blames her for the absence of his father and grandfather. And then her father calls to tell her he is dying. He has only one chance to live--if she will donate a kidney to save him. So she goes, resolved to save her father, terrified to face Sam, but driven by desperation to save her son. To do that, she must face all the secrets of the past and find a way to heal the scars and love again.
528 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
1015 people are currently reading
2700 people want to read
About the author
Susan Wiggs
170 books7,478 followersSusan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 214 reviews
June 11, 2013
I expected a story about a woman who's had to brave single motherhood alone, who lost her first love, who feels abandoned.
What I didn't expect was a story about a spoiled, selfish brat who assumes the worst, refuses to communicate, and throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. That's what this story is. It's the story of a spoiled little rich girl who feels she's getting the short end of the stick so she storms off in a huff. With the exception of her father, she keeps the paternity of her child a secret from everyone, including from the child's father, and this results in both the father and her son being mightily pissed off when they discover the truth. Does Michelle feel the least bit remorseful that she's done this? No. Instead, she acts put out by the fact that they've discovered each other. And when her son's father, Sam, says that he wants to spend some time with Cody and get to know him (after, you know, not even knowing he had a sixteen-year-old son), her first reaction is to refuse!
"What Cody was too young to realize was that the minute he gave himself to a guy like Sam, he was a goner. Sam would break the boy's heart the way he broke Michelle's so long ago."
Like I said, selfish.
"Sam claimed he wanted to know his son, to get involved, but his involvement ended the day he skipped town seventeen years ago. The only reason she had told Cody was that it felt deceptive not to. She didn't owe Sam a thing. He didn't owe her a thing."
Do you notice how she makes the entire fucking thing about her? Sam didn't know she was pregnant when he and his mom were run out of town. He had no idea whatsoever. His ignorance of the existence of his child somehow negates any parental claim he might have? It means he's not entitled to know his own kid?!
The peripheral characters are cliche's; the distant father figure, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks with a heart of a gold and a difficult past, the "difficult" teenage son, and the only discernible purpose they serve is to act as springboards for Michelle's astoundingly self-centered bullshit. She grew up without a daddy because he was more interested in being a movie star, but when her mommy died (after complications arising from plastic surgery), daddy invited her to take a year off from school and spend it at his ranch where he (surprise!) spoiled her rotten. She's beautiful, she's rich, she has people fapping over how artistically talented she is, she gets to ride horses, snags a hot ranch hand....but her daddy didn't coddle her immediately after finding out she'd been knocked up by one of his employees and her boyfriend disappeared, so her life is just so sad.
If she'd just settled down for five fucking seconds, she and her dad could have worked shit out, and she could have figured out what had happened to Sam. Instead, her rash and careless actions were the fault of everyone else for letting her down.
Then the same fucking thing happens at the end of the book. Her spoiled, selfish brat of a son (shocking that he'd turn out just like his mom, huh) lies to her about Sam "running off" and "not wanting to be his dad anymore", and does she give Sam the benefit of the doubt? Nope.
"Who knew what he was thinking, blowing up at Cody and then disappearing like that? Maybe everything got a little too real."
MAYBE HE HAD SOMETHING COME UP THAT WAS JUST A LITTLE MORE IMPORTANT RIGHT THEN THAN YOU AND YOUR WHINY FUCKING VAGINA!
Michelle is a stupid cow and she made this book painful to read. The worst part is that she doesn't appear to learn anything from her behavior. She has some earth-shattering (for her) epiphany about how she's spent the last seventeen years afraid, but she never acknowledges any regrets about keeping her son's existence a secret from his own father, she never apologizes for any of the astoundingly selfish things she's done. She climbs up on her cross every chance she gets and gets a fucking pass for it every time. Not a good message for women; if your life is hard, blame it on a man. Or, in Michelle's case, two men.
June 7, 2016
3 yıldız verecektim, ama kadın karakter artık öyle sinirimi bozdu ki... Sinir harbi yaşadım. Sanırım bir kitapta gördüğüm en bencil, en kendini düşünen, en 'benbenbeneben' odaklı kitap karakterleri bunda toplanmıştı.
Özet geçeyim diyorum, onu da yapasım yok. En iyisi neden 2 yıldız verdiğimi söyleyeyim. Azıcık özet deneyeyim mi? Dur bakalım.
Michelle diye bir hatun var, babası ünlü bir oyuncu. Yıllar önce annesi ölünce, artık at çiftliği sahibi olan babasının yanında kalmış. O zamanlar 18 yaşında. Orada babasını yanında çalışan birine aşık olmuş, hamile kalmış. Ama kız bunu öğrendiği gün, adam da ortadan yok olmuş. (OLAYLAR OLAYLAR VAR DAHA) Sonra işte kız 35 yaşında, 16 yaşında bir oğlu var. Epey sorunlu, atarlı bir çocuk. On yedi yıldır hiç konuşmadığı babasının yanına gidiyor kadın. (BİR SEBEBİ VAR. KİTAPTA ÖNEMLİ BİR SEBEP) Sonra orada görmeyi beklediği son adamı görüyor. Sam, çocuğun babası. Bir sürü olay oluyor işte.
Michelle'in babasıyla tekrar arasının düzelme çalışmaları, Cody (kadının oğlu) kendi babasını öğrenmesi, bir yandan da Michelle ve Sam arasındakiler.
2 YILDIZ SEBEPLERİ:
* Yazar durmadan aynı şeyi yazmış. Size durmaaadan karakterleri bir daha bir daha açıklıyor, sanki okuyucu salakmış da, on sayfa önce dediği eski oyuncu lafını anlamamış gibi bir daha, bir daha, bir daha... Ta ki sonuna kadar.
* Ah, son demişken... Abi sonu yok! Yani o kadar olaylar oldu. Tekrar kavuşulacak mı, neler olacak, çocuk babasıyla anlaşacak mı, noluyor... Yok abi. ZART diye bitiverdi. Hatta şöyle herkesin çayıra doğru koştuğu bir son bile yok :D . Çooooook saçmaydı ya.
* Kadın kendi babasından o kadar yıl uzak kalmış, babam beni bir evlat gibi görmedi, benimle ilgilenmedi diye zırlıyor ediyor, ama kendi oğlunun babası, çocukla görüşmek, vakit geçirmek, onu tanımak istediğini söyleyince, 'Neee o benimmm, on altı yıl ben baktım, sen yoktun, tek baktım, ben baktım, sadece ben, tek başıma," bilmem ne diye yırtınıyor. Yahu sen nasıl bir annesin ki seni o kadar yaralayan olayın aynısını evladına yaşatıyorsun.
Ay yok cidden yani çok sinir oldum. :D :D
Özet geçeyim diyorum, onu da yapasım yok. En iyisi neden 2 yıldız verdiğimi söyleyeyim. Azıcık özet deneyeyim mi? Dur bakalım.
Michelle diye bir hatun var, babası ünlü bir oyuncu. Yıllar önce annesi ölünce, artık at çiftliği sahibi olan babasının yanında kalmış. O zamanlar 18 yaşında. Orada babasını yanında çalışan birine aşık olmuş, hamile kalmış. Ama kız bunu öğrendiği gün, adam da ortadan yok olmuş. (OLAYLAR OLAYLAR VAR DAHA) Sonra işte kız 35 yaşında, 16 yaşında bir oğlu var. Epey sorunlu, atarlı bir çocuk. On yedi yıldır hiç konuşmadığı babasının yanına gidiyor kadın. (BİR SEBEBİ VAR. KİTAPTA ÖNEMLİ BİR SEBEP) Sonra orada görmeyi beklediği son adamı görüyor. Sam, çocuğun babası. Bir sürü olay oluyor işte.
Michelle'in babasıyla tekrar arasının düzelme çalışmaları, Cody (kadının oğlu) kendi babasını öğrenmesi, bir yandan da Michelle ve Sam arasındakiler.
2 YILDIZ SEBEPLERİ:
* Yazar durmadan aynı şeyi yazmış. Size durmaaadan karakterleri bir daha bir daha açıklıyor, sanki okuyucu salakmış da, on sayfa önce dediği eski oyuncu lafını anlamamış gibi bir daha, bir daha, bir daha... Ta ki sonuna kadar.
* Ah, son demişken... Abi sonu yok! Yani o kadar olaylar oldu. Tekrar kavuşulacak mı, neler olacak, çocuk babasıyla anlaşacak mı, noluyor... Yok abi. ZART diye bitiverdi. Hatta şöyle herkesin çayıra doğru koştuğu bir son bile yok :D . Çooooook saçmaydı ya.
* Kadın kendi babasından o kadar yıl uzak kalmış, babam beni bir evlat gibi görmedi, benimle ilgilenmedi diye zırlıyor ediyor, ama kendi oğlunun babası, çocukla görüşmek, vakit geçirmek, onu tanımak istediğini söyleyince, 'Neee o benimmm, on altı yıl ben baktım, sen yoktun, tek baktım, ben baktım, sadece ben, tek başıma," bilmem ne diye yırtınıyor. Yahu sen nasıl bir annesin ki seni o kadar yaralayan olayın aynısını evladına yaşatıyorsun.
Ay yok cidden yani çok sinir oldum. :D :D
August 19, 2012
A book filled with second chances; something we all need sometimes.
May 25, 2015
While this story wraps itself around a love that began in Michelle and Sam's teen years, it so much more than a romance of love found again. It captures with poignant depictions of an angry 16-year-old boy who meets his birth father and his famous actor grandfather when Michelle never expected to make such an introduction. And it teaches Sam both the joys and pains of being a father when he must contend with Cody, his joy at working with the horses and his bad choices in so-called friends and reluctance to come clean, even after Sam's mother becomes collateral damage.
If you're looking for an easy read, don't bother with this novel. The author's treatment of real issues doesn't hold back and you may not be comfortable after she's pulled you in. But if you want a story that reflects life's most important issues about parenting and yes, love, dive in and become involved. A great read, one I couldn't put down and will definitely read again!
If you're looking for an easy read, don't bother with this novel. The author's treatment of real issues doesn't hold back and you may not be comfortable after she's pulled you in. But if you want a story that reflects life's most important issues about parenting and yes, love, dive in and become involved. A great read, one I couldn't put down and will definitely read again!
November 20, 2020
This is a good solid contemporary romance with nothing really jumping out beyond the normal. It's way too long. I don't know if the author had a page minimum but the editor/publisher made this a huge book to get through. I wasn't really invested with any of the characters where their reactions made me cry or laugh. 3 stars
July 15, 2008
I just finished this one and really liked it. I couldn't put it down!!
This author seems to be very graphic about describing scenery (inside and out), but not too graphic in other areas.
This author seems to be very graphic about describing scenery (inside and out), but not too graphic in other areas.
May 22, 2017
"Heimat meines Herzens" ist ein solider Roman, der im ruralen Montana spielt.
Das setting konnte mich definitiv begeistern. Ich mochte das Ranchleben und alles was dazugehörte. Die Geschichte selbst blieb dabei aber leider ein wenig nichts sagend und farblos. Es passiert nicht viel im Laufe des Buches und hatte für mich einige Längen.
Dabei sind mir auch die Charaktere ziemlich fern geblieben und ich konnte nur selten wirklich mitfiebern, was es umso schwerer gemacht hat der Handlung mit Freude zu folgen. Es gab für mich nur wenige emotionale Momente, die mich wirklich berührt haben.
Generell konnte mich das Buch relativ gut unterhalten, aber es hat doch einiges gefehlt um mich wirklich zu begeistern. Es war leider alles andere als ein Pageturner.
Das setting konnte mich definitiv begeistern. Ich mochte das Ranchleben und alles was dazugehörte. Die Geschichte selbst blieb dabei aber leider ein wenig nichts sagend und farblos. Es passiert nicht viel im Laufe des Buches und hatte für mich einige Längen.
Dabei sind mir auch die Charaktere ziemlich fern geblieben und ich konnte nur selten wirklich mitfiebern, was es umso schwerer gemacht hat der Handlung mit Freude zu folgen. Es gab für mich nur wenige emotionale Momente, die mich wirklich berührt haben.
Generell konnte mich das Buch relativ gut unterhalten, aber es hat doch einiges gefehlt um mich wirklich zu begeistern. Es war leider alles andere als ein Pageturner.
January 5, 2025
I loved this book! What a roller coaster of emotions.I will definitely read more from this author
June 25, 2011
This book was an okay read,all the issues taken were handled really well except for the main characters Sam-Michelle,its a second chance at love story but i have my doubts about Sam-Michelle's HEA
Sam was a boy from wrong side of the track and Michelle is a movie actor's daughter,both meet sparks fly and they fall for each other but due to manupalations from others and Michelle's father Gavin they are seperated,Sam leaves town and Michelle leaves after Sam alone and pregnant
Michelle moves to Seattle makes a life for herself but she has to give up her dream of becoming an artist and she also stops painting,her relation with her son Cody is getting distant,Cody was a happy child but Michelle seemed always sad which made Cody think it is cause of him,he gets angry goes in wrong company and makes wrong choices and is always angry at Michelle
Gavin kidney's have failed and only chance of survival is transplant,as soon as Michelle hears it she comes back and decides to give her kidney,this opens up a chance for the father-daughter to patch up things and break the silence of 17 years,how these two talk and work through it like it a lot
Sam had a difficult childhood cause his mother was an alcoholic,he gave up scholl started working at the age of 16 and took responsibility of his mother,he was always there for her no matter what,then Michelle came he loves her a lot but he leaves town with her mother without saying anything to Michelle,after leaving he starts Rodeo and with that money he becomes a doctor and now has come back to the town,one thing that was conflicting for me was Sam always knew he can never love anyone else he only loves Michelle,yet he gets married and obviously it does'nt work out they get divorced
Sam was a good son,good doctor,good human but he failed at being a father and lover,i can even let go his decisions as he took as a lover cause he was young and he panicked with theft charges n all so he left,at first when he came to know he had a son he did'nt knew whether he even wanted to be there for him but he made provisions for Cody and said he will provide for Cody as he is his responsibility,i know he was new at being a father and in learning process but saying such a hurtful thing to your teenage child who is as it is angry at world and way he lashed out at Cody it makes us see he does'nt even trust Michelle's upbringing,Cody did the right thing he backed out but Sam did'nt listen
I can never forgive him making Cody feel he was unwanted child no matter how angry you are but making your child feel unwanted.....just can't let it go,Michelle through all the hardships and loneliness she raised Cody but never for once she thought pregnancy as unwanted or Cody a unwanted child,she loved him unconditionally,which makes her a much better parent then Sam
Sam-Michelle when they meet again,they make progress but then again they will be back to square one ,they had trust issues and in the end when we have the HEA i still felt it was too soon they still had loads to work on the trust,they kept things from each other till the end and Sam-Cody has also lots to understand and accept each other
It was a okay read but depressing
Sam was a boy from wrong side of the track and Michelle is a movie actor's daughter,both meet sparks fly and they fall for each other but due to manupalations from others and Michelle's father Gavin they are seperated,Sam leaves town and Michelle leaves after Sam alone and pregnant
Michelle moves to Seattle makes a life for herself but she has to give up her dream of becoming an artist and she also stops painting,her relation with her son Cody is getting distant,Cody was a happy child but Michelle seemed always sad which made Cody think it is cause of him,he gets angry goes in wrong company and makes wrong choices and is always angry at Michelle
Gavin kidney's have failed and only chance of survival is transplant,as soon as Michelle hears it she comes back and decides to give her kidney,this opens up a chance for the father-daughter to patch up things and break the silence of 17 years,how these two talk and work through it like it a lot
Sam had a difficult childhood cause his mother was an alcoholic,he gave up scholl started working at the age of 16 and took responsibility of his mother,he was always there for her no matter what,then Michelle came he loves her a lot but he leaves town with her mother without saying anything to Michelle,after leaving he starts Rodeo and with that money he becomes a doctor and now has come back to the town,one thing that was conflicting for me was Sam always knew he can never love anyone else he only loves Michelle,yet he gets married and obviously it does'nt work out they get divorced
Sam was a good son,good doctor,good human but he failed at being a father and lover,i can even let go his decisions as he took as a lover cause he was young and he panicked with theft charges n all so he left,at first when he came to know he had a son he did'nt knew whether he even wanted to be there for him but he made provisions for Cody and said he will provide for Cody as he is his responsibility,i know he was new at being a father and in learning process but saying such a hurtful thing to your teenage child who is as it is angry at world and way he lashed out at Cody it makes us see he does'nt even trust Michelle's upbringing,Cody did the right thing he backed out but Sam did'nt listen
I can never forgive him making Cody feel he was unwanted child no matter how angry you are but making your child feel unwanted.....just can't let it go,Michelle through all the hardships and loneliness she raised Cody but never for once she thought pregnancy as unwanted or Cody a unwanted child,she loved him unconditionally,which makes her a much better parent then Sam
Sam-Michelle when they meet again,they make progress but then again they will be back to square one ,they had trust issues and in the end when we have the HEA i still felt it was too soon they still had loads to work on the trust,they kept things from each other till the end and Sam-Cody has also lots to understand and accept each other
It was a okay read but depressing
March 20, 2011
Unbelievably surprise! I picked it up on an impulse at Target - hadn't heard of it or it's author. And after sooo many books that I didn't enjoy, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in this one and appreciating it fully! About 3/4 of the way through, I check to see what genre it is and...holy smokes, it is ROMANCE!!!! Evidently, a no-brainer with loveable characters, some fairly predictable drama and a happy ending were just what I needed! Truly a pleasant surprise!
January 17, 2010
This was a wonderful story. I found myself connected on a very personal level to Michelle and Cody. It was more real sometimes than was comfortable. I felt every doubt and fear and then the joy that eventually rose above it. This was the first book I've read of Susan Wiggs, but I fully intend on reading more of her writing.
April 9, 2011
Another Susan Wiggs that I wanted to never end. You get so wrapped up in her characters that you can hardly believe that the end has come and you no longer get to know what happens next. At least she leaves you full of hope. Plus it makes you want to move to Montana tomorrow. What a gifted writer she is!
March 24, 2009
Susan Wiggs does it again. This woman can write!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 3, 2009
I loved this book... one of my all time favorites. Susan knows how to draw you in and get you involved in the story.
August 26, 2021
Ok so I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed most of the characters. Michelle was a bit annoying but still likeable. What I didn’t like about this book was that SO MUCH happened in like 2 weeks? I know I know, it’s not even real but it was a little hard to swallow. But I still enjoyed the book!
July 15, 2022
Not for me. The writing is choppy. The story is jumpy w/o flow. More scenery described then story.
May 8, 2018
Michelle walked away from her father the moment he found out about her romance with his stablehand which left her pregnant.now,16 years later she is back when her father called her due to his health.she never expected to see sam there again.but fate is a very funny thing....cody grows mature,sam and michelle gets back together and gavin gets better after his surgery
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2011
Overall I liked this book...Just a few problems with it:
Yes, I know it was first printed 10 years ago but for the reprint I got (just one month ago) why didn't they fix some easily fixed items...like replacing Discman with mp3 or headphones(which could have been used in the first place)and taking the no speed limit in Montana (which by the time the novel was first published was obsolete anyway)out.
Second problem with the book...the author's obvious lack of knowledge of small town life in general and Montana specifically. What Ms. Wiggs described wasn't a small town...at least in Montana...in Montana what she described would be more like a big town like Lewistown or Kalispell.
Third is the constant restating of all their problems...really? by the last chapter we knew the "heroine" was a mistrustful control freak who had an absentee actor father we didn't need it stated for the umpteenth time. If Ms. Wiggs didn't trust us to know all of the characters by then why write the story in the first place? She could have eliminated about half of character statement/restatements and I would have loved the book!! As it is it took all my effort to finish the book (mainly because I hate not finishing a book that I have read over half of).
Yes, I know it was first printed 10 years ago but for the reprint I got (just one month ago) why didn't they fix some easily fixed items...like replacing Discman with mp3 or headphones(which could have been used in the first place)and taking the no speed limit in Montana (which by the time the novel was first published was obsolete anyway)out.
Second problem with the book...the author's obvious lack of knowledge of small town life in general and Montana specifically. What Ms. Wiggs described wasn't a small town...at least in Montana...in Montana what she described would be more like a big town like Lewistown or Kalispell.
Third is the constant restating of all their problems...really? by the last chapter we knew the "heroine" was a mistrustful control freak who had an absentee actor father we didn't need it stated for the umpteenth time. If Ms. Wiggs didn't trust us to know all of the characters by then why write the story in the first place? She could have eliminated about half of character statement/restatements and I would have loved the book!! As it is it took all my effort to finish the book (mainly because I hate not finishing a book that I have read over half of).
May 9, 2011
I love the realism in Susan Wiggs stories...she is an amazing author that can weave a story so deep there is no way to put it down. As the story developed, and because it is a romance novel, I could tell where it might go...but with Susan Wiggs, one can never tell for sure.
Suspense in what the characters are going to do as each circumstance came up, kept me turning the pages. The difficulties with family loss and estrangement were the most important. Healing only comes when we can open our heart to forgiveness. It seems that maturity in age is the necessary ingredient for all of us. My heart aches because of this and understood what was holding back the characters.
My interest in reading is for growth. I enjoy reading about other families and how they deal with real life. When Susan tells a story, she has such skill in prose that I feel as if I'm inside the pages. I get caught up with what happens and am moved by the struggle for growth. This story was touching and inspirational. Anyone reading this without forgiving family members of their past mistakes doesn't have a heart. Thank you Susan for, yet another, classic that I will read over and over again.
Suspense in what the characters are going to do as each circumstance came up, kept me turning the pages. The difficulties with family loss and estrangement were the most important. Healing only comes when we can open our heart to forgiveness. It seems that maturity in age is the necessary ingredient for all of us. My heart aches because of this and understood what was holding back the characters.
My interest in reading is for growth. I enjoy reading about other families and how they deal with real life. When Susan tells a story, she has such skill in prose that I feel as if I'm inside the pages. I get caught up with what happens and am moved by the struggle for growth. This story was touching and inspirational. Anyone reading this without forgiving family members of their past mistakes doesn't have a heart. Thank you Susan for, yet another, classic that I will read over and over again.
November 20, 2015
I expected a well-written story from Ms. Wiggs, but that is not what I got. There are many problems and emotions that are repeatedly restated. That went on for over 500 pages--BORING! None of the characters really had pleasing, rounded personalities, and even at the end of the novel the the character traits seemed forced, unfinished, and unrealistic. The foul language used repeatedly was uncalled for and offensive and certainly detracted from the story.
Michelle is a a distrustful control freak who puts walls up to protect her feelings. Consequently, she plays emotional games with Sam.
Sam, Gavin, and Michelle repeatedly keep making the same mistakes, but they always have excuses for their mistakes. So, that makes them right?
Cody, Michelle and Sam's son, is an insolent, obnoxious, selfish brat, and Michelle spends too much time defending his evil ways and protecting him.
NOT a well thought out, written story!
Michelle is a a distrustful control freak who puts walls up to protect her feelings. Consequently, she plays emotional games with Sam.
Sam, Gavin, and Michelle repeatedly keep making the same mistakes, but they always have excuses for their mistakes. So, that makes them right?
Cody, Michelle and Sam's son, is an insolent, obnoxious, selfish brat, and Michelle spends too much time defending his evil ways and protecting him.
NOT a well thought out, written story!
January 22, 2018
Michelle Turner is the illegitimate daughter of former movie great Gavin Slade. When she was 18 her mother died during surgery. She went to live with her dad on his ranch in western Montana after the death and high school graduation. There she met and fell in love with 18-year-old ranch hand Sam McPhee. Sam's alcoholic mother kept them on the move and the night before Michelle found out she was pregnant, Sam and his mother disappear. When her dad reacts poorly to the news of her pregnancy, she also leaves for Seattle. A talented artist, she becomes a graphic artist and does very well with her son Cody.
17 years later, Michelle returns to Montana to donate a kidney to her dad and discovers Sam is now a local doctor/rancher and 6 time rodeo champion. The attraction is still there, but Cody is not thrilled. They have major issues to overcome, but eventually it all works out.
17 years later, Michelle returns to Montana to donate a kidney to her dad and discovers Sam is now a local doctor/rancher and 6 time rodeo champion. The attraction is still there, but Cody is not thrilled. They have major issues to overcome, but eventually it all works out.
December 24, 2010
Michelle is thrown for a curve when she gets some papers from her father, after further investigating them she realized he is dying from kidney failure, being the good daughter she quickly sees if she is a match to donate a kidney. It turns out she is, so after a 17 year estrangement she goes back to his house to save his life. The reason for the estrangement was her unexpected pregnancy and his reaction to it. Michelle pulls into town, and quickly sees the man who got her pregnant, throwing her life into more chaos. How much more can a woman take, well, we just need to add in the unruly child. From here the story is pretty predictable, but the characters are interesting and you find yourself rooting for them.
December 29, 2016
I Know What Will Happen Next but Can't Wait to Read it Anyway!
This is a very sweet read. It delves deeply into feelings and very gradually the characters, who you can't help but love, work their way through the memories of love, hurt and back to love. Mother and son, daughter and negligent father, grandfather and grandson and father and the son he just learns he has when this son is already sixteen and an alcoholic mother and a son who never gives up on her. All reach the heart and now I'll miss all my new friends.
Very interesting scenery and description of life in Montana and even includes life in a Rodeo.
Great book and thank you Susan Wiggs for providing such a touching enjoyable book
I look forward to reading others you've written.
This is a very sweet read. It delves deeply into feelings and very gradually the characters, who you can't help but love, work their way through the memories of love, hurt and back to love. Mother and son, daughter and negligent father, grandfather and grandson and father and the son he just learns he has when this son is already sixteen and an alcoholic mother and a son who never gives up on her. All reach the heart and now I'll miss all my new friends.
Very interesting scenery and description of life in Montana and even includes life in a Rodeo.
Great book and thank you Susan Wiggs for providing such a touching enjoyable book
I look forward to reading others you've written.
December 29, 2021
I suspect this author isn't for me. The story is interesting, the writing ok but full of the typical tropes, the characters don't ever feel real. Every page, every word, I feel like I'm reading a book, and that's all. There's no life here. That seems to be exactly what I thought about the previous book by her, so I guess I'm done trying this author.
NB - What I really need is for someone to write a series of old-fashioned British-style mysteries that begin with the letter Y. And maybe I. I needed a Y title to finish out 3 different challenges, so I plugged away and finished this. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.
NB - What I really need is for someone to write a series of old-fashioned British-style mysteries that begin with the letter Y. And maybe I. I needed a Y title to finish out 3 different challenges, so I plugged away and finished this. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.
October 30, 2020
Very long, but at no point was I ever tired of it! Of course, I'm always a sucker for good cowboy stories or medical dramas, and this book has both :)
Not sure I believe in "the one", but this story sure does do a great job of convincing you of that. I love the realistic dynamic with the teenaged son - having tried to blend families with teens, I know it is no walk in the park.
No foul language or descriptive sex scenes make this the perfect book for just about anyone.
Not sure I believe in "the one", but this story sure does do a great job of convincing you of that. I love the realistic dynamic with the teenaged son - having tried to blend families with teens, I know it is no walk in the park.
No foul language or descriptive sex scenes make this the perfect book for just about anyone.
April 10, 2020
The you I never knew
To much swearing , I will not read any more of Susan Wigg 📚 story was not good either📚I use to like her books🥺
To much swearing , I will not read any more of Susan Wigg 📚 story was not good either📚I use to like her books🥺
July 4, 2020
Great summer read. It's an easy read that you don't want to put down!
July 12, 2020
3.5 stars...very enjoyable but could have been 100 pages shorter
March 25, 2022
This book was just alright for me. This is about a woman who goes from where she now lives with her teen son in Seattle back home to Montana because her dad needs a kidney transplant and she's going to be the donor. When she gets back to Montana, of course she runs back into the baby daddy who she never told about the baby. He's a doctor and seemingly a really good guy, but she never told him she was pregnant and he had no idea about the baby until now (16ish years later) when he meets the kid and does the math. This book explores the complicated relationship between the woman and her father (who was never a great guy to her) and the woman and her first love. I love first love, second chance, but I didn't feel the chemistry here and I thought the secret baby nonsense was too much. She said something like "I've always loved you" and he said "I know". I just didn't ship these people and felt bored a lot of the story.
September 19, 2025
This book was really good! All 530 pages! Tad bit long but worth the read!
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