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思い出の眠る町
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Carol Murphy had made something of Herself in the eight years since she'd left Raindance, Nebraska, in the wake of a scandal that had destroyed her young marriage. And she'd almost convinced herself the past was dead and buried -- until she came face-to-face with her ex-husband, Bryce Garrett, and felt a rush of longing that rocked her to her very soul...
Bryce was sure he'd put Carol's bitter betrayal behind him. So why did her mere presence transform his hard-won indifference into a blaze of desire that left him wishing she'd never returned to Raindance -- and desperately hoping she'd never leave again?
Carol Murphy had made something of Herself in the eight years since she'd left Raindance, Nebraska, in the wake of a scandal that had destroyed her young marriage. And she'd almost convinced herself the past was dead and buried -- until she came face-to-face with her ex-husband, Bryce Garrett, and felt a rush of longing that rocked her to her very soul...
Bryce was sure he'd put Carol's bitter betrayal behind him. So why did her mere presence transform his hard-won indifference into a blaze of desire that left him wishing she'd never returned to Raindance -- and desperately hoping she'd never leave again?
Paperback Shinsho
First published March 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 17, 2019
Second chance story. Heroine returns to her hometown to investigate an offer her mother received for family land. The land speculation plot line is never resolved, so I’m assuming it’s part of this Raindance series.
Raindance, a town nestled in the sandhills of Nebraska, reminds me of Diana Palmer’s Jacobsville in its absurdity. This was published in 1988 and the heroine marvels at all the new businesses that have sprung up since she left 8 years ago.
There is a new two-story hospital, a motel with restaurant, a new subdivision, a new golf course with club house and restaurant that hosts big band dances on Sunday night, a new country/western bar/dancehall.
The town also supports accountants (hero’s father), two banks (heroine’s father), law firm (hero) two real estate agencies, schools, nursing home, downtown restaurants, and numerous churches.
The only industry comes from the surrounding ranchers. Oh, well fictional economies are the best.
H/h married a few weeks after heroine graduated from high school. She was the town “it” girl and spoiled. She just wanted to have fun while the hero (four years older) wanted to establish himself at his father’s accountancy firm. The fought a lot and heroine started going out with a salesman during the day.
She eventually got caught up in a drug bust and had her face plastered all over the news. Hero thought she was cheating on him so he kicked her out after bailing out of jail. Heroine went to California to live with an aunt and uncle. Heroine’s parents moved away because of the gossip.
Heroine went to college and is now a successful PR person in LA. Hero went to law school and is now a lawyer. He still lives in their marital home, but is planning on building a new house with his fiancé, a schoolteacher.
The author creates an Ain't She Sweet? vibe with all the townspeople saying insulting things and the heroine taking it since she still feels guilty about ruining everyone’s lives. That really didn’t work for me since the heroine was young and stupid and exploited and never got to defend herself.
Hero is still hot for the heroine, but insults her at every turn. I can’t see how he’s grown up since he doesn’t seem to know what he wants and he forgets all about his fiancé whenever the heroine is around.
The fiancé is an interesting character. Heroine ends up telling her the whole story and then confesses that she wants the hero back. Fiancé basically sees the writing on the wall and bows out for the H/h to get together by end.
While the H/h had chemistry, I didn’t really see any connection beyond that. I’m not sure I believe their HEA since it rests on the heroine settling down to be a wife and mother in a small town. The author undermines this HEA by including a secondary plot thread with the heroine’s bff from high school and her neglectful husband. Bff is resentful of being stuck with two toddlers and pregnant for the third time while her husband pursues a career. It’s a classic dilemma of 1980’s romance, but it’s a downer nevertheless.
I think this author is great at setting up a conflict, but not believable resolutions.
Raindance, a town nestled in the sandhills of Nebraska, reminds me of Diana Palmer’s Jacobsville in its absurdity. This was published in 1988 and the heroine marvels at all the new businesses that have sprung up since she left 8 years ago.
There is a new two-story hospital, a motel with restaurant, a new subdivision, a new golf course with club house and restaurant that hosts big band dances on Sunday night, a new country/western bar/dancehall.
The town also supports accountants (hero’s father), two banks (heroine’s father), law firm (hero) two real estate agencies, schools, nursing home, downtown restaurants, and numerous churches.
The only industry comes from the surrounding ranchers. Oh, well fictional economies are the best.
H/h married a few weeks after heroine graduated from high school. She was the town “it” girl and spoiled. She just wanted to have fun while the hero (four years older) wanted to establish himself at his father’s accountancy firm. The fought a lot and heroine started going out with a salesman during the day.
She eventually got caught up in a drug bust and had her face plastered all over the news. Hero thought she was cheating on him so he kicked her out after bailing out of jail. Heroine went to California to live with an aunt and uncle. Heroine’s parents moved away because of the gossip.
Heroine went to college and is now a successful PR person in LA. Hero went to law school and is now a lawyer. He still lives in their marital home, but is planning on building a new house with his fiancé, a schoolteacher.
The author creates an Ain't She Sweet? vibe with all the townspeople saying insulting things and the heroine taking it since she still feels guilty about ruining everyone’s lives. That really didn’t work for me since the heroine was young and stupid and exploited and never got to defend herself.
Hero is still hot for the heroine, but insults her at every turn. I can’t see how he’s grown up since he doesn’t seem to know what he wants and he forgets all about his fiancé whenever the heroine is around.
The fiancé is an interesting character. Heroine ends up telling her the whole story and then confesses that she wants the hero back. Fiancé basically sees the writing on the wall and bows out for the H/h to get together by end.
While the H/h had chemistry, I didn’t really see any connection beyond that. I’m not sure I believe their HEA since it rests on the heroine settling down to be a wife and mother in a small town. The author undermines this HEA by including a secondary plot thread with the heroine’s bff from high school and her neglectful husband. Bff is resentful of being stuck with two toddlers and pregnant for the third time while her husband pursues a career. It’s a classic dilemma of 1980’s romance, but it’s a downer nevertheless.
I think this author is great at setting up a conflict, but not believable resolutions.
December 25, 2023
I fell in love with this book. It resonated with me. It symbolized the need to grow up and mature before making a life time commitment.
The HEA was sweet.
The HEA was sweet.
August 17, 2025
She should have stayed away! This book was incredible (as in incredibly awful)!! The h left her small town in shame and disgrace, blew up her marriage, lost everyone's respect, all because she was an immature, self-centered, spoiled, entitled brat, even though at age 20 she should have outgrown that.
(Though in her favor, the town labeling her a bad girl from the start was a bit much. Before the incident that drove her away, she was the town darling: straight A student. homecoming queen, won the heart of the town's most popular young man, etc. The "bad girl" label was because she drank a bit of beer, kissed several guys, and liked to go to the movies and dancing. Well, unless it was pole dancing and porn movies, it doesn't sound like she was different from a lot of girls, and the kissing didn't go beyond that.)
She had been in love with the H for ages, but he was five years older and treated her like a kid for a while and dated and made out (and probably did more) with other girls, so she started seeing other guys. Even when they got together, the H was reluctant to make a commitment, since she was 17 to his 22, so they still saw other people, until she graduated high school and they got married! Talk about dumb! She was only 18, and at 23 he should have known she was too young to be a wife and take on the responsibilities of marriage. (But they were both eager to have sex and with the small-town folks' eyes on them, they felt they had to be proper.)
Her inability to cope with housework, cooking, balancing budgets, etc. (her parents treated her as if she were a trust fund baby and had no need to learn these things) made the H short tempered, and his spending so much time working (he was an accountant, then went to law school) made her feel neglected, so to get him jealous she started flirting with a Bad Boy who came to town, deliberately leading him on to make the H jealous. Angry at hubby for having to work late and not take her dancing, she went with BB instead, and was dumb enough to stop at his place afterward for a drink (she didn't want him to think she wasn't sophisticated, what a NINCOMPOOP), and nearly got raped! The H showed up, thought it was mutual lust, hit BB and told the h she was a slut, and their marriage was over! This spiraled into craziness, as the h winds up in a rundown house with the BB and some other shady characters (both men and women), where BB makes her drink some whiskey, she ends up in a fog, and the next thing you know, the cops are there, it's a drug bust, and a picture of her in bed with BB is in the local paper! (Nothing happened, they had both passed out on the bed.) Needless to say, that was the end of her marriage and her life in the town.
The story picks up eight years later, when she has to return to settle some trouble with family real estate (not worth going into). She's made a new life for herself in LA, has a good career, a lot of material stuff, but no man in her life. (She never got over her ex-hubby and didn't want any other man. Also, anyone she met seemed to just be after her body.) The H, however, has apparently moved on, is a partner in a law firm, and is engaged to be married. (For once, you get an OW who's a good person rather than a vindictive bitch.) This book switches the usual narrative, as here it's the H who accuses the h of cheating, won't listen to what she has to say, plans to marry someone else and makes snarky comments to the h, pretending he couldn't care less about her. Usually, you get the reverse.
As the story goes on, you tend to be on the h's side, especially with all the crappy townspeople, like a waitress who tries to cause trouble, an old friend who lost touch with the h all this time and yet has no problem with dumping all her troubles on her and sounding like a whiny brat, and the woman's judgmental husband, who tells the h the H is better off without her. What a bunch of jerks! It's enough to make everyone in a small town run to the big city!
I was on the h's side (figuring she paid for her dumb mistakes) but then it's soon apparent that she hasn't changed at all! She's still the same entitled, self-centered young woman she was before! If leaving her hometown changed her into a better person, then returning changed her right back again! She had gotten to know the OW, decided she liked her, wanted the H to be happy with her and wished them the best, even went on a few dates with a local hunk (the OM in the story and a nice guy, too) to put the H out of her mind, but then a slow dance with the H (and too much touching) gets them both hot and horny, and the next thing you know, she decides she wants him back! She even informs the OW of this, right after she confessed the whole story of why she and the H divorced (he never told the OW everything about it) and the OW felt sympathy for her! She flat out tells her she still loves the H, wants him back, and while she won't make any moves to seduce him (how noble of her), if he tries to seduce her, she won't stop him! UNBELIEVABLE!!!
I was so disgusted, I stopped reading it through and just skimmed. The h is no better, BTW. Even though he decides he wants a life with the OW (despite her being predicable and bland, as he sees her), and believes he could never trust the h again, he still wants to get in her panties, and (just like she said) she didn't try to stop him! To Hell with his fiancée, it seems! The only thing that stopped them from doing the deed was his parents unexpectedly showing up, when they were both getting naked!! Well, that was IT for me! I didn't bother even skimming the rest!
WHAT WAS THE AUTHOR SMOKING WHEN SHE WROTE THIS BOOK???? It must have been pretty strong!!
I couldn't read anymore after that, because I didn't want a HEA for those two jerks! (I would have liked to see the OW and OM get together, because they were both really nice people, much too good for the H and h!)
(Though in her favor, the town labeling her a bad girl from the start was a bit much. Before the incident that drove her away, she was the town darling: straight A student. homecoming queen, won the heart of the town's most popular young man, etc. The "bad girl" label was because she drank a bit of beer, kissed several guys, and liked to go to the movies and dancing. Well, unless it was pole dancing and porn movies, it doesn't sound like she was different from a lot of girls, and the kissing didn't go beyond that.)
She had been in love with the H for ages, but he was five years older and treated her like a kid for a while and dated and made out (and probably did more) with other girls, so she started seeing other guys. Even when they got together, the H was reluctant to make a commitment, since she was 17 to his 22, so they still saw other people, until she graduated high school and they got married! Talk about dumb! She was only 18, and at 23 he should have known she was too young to be a wife and take on the responsibilities of marriage. (But they were both eager to have sex and with the small-town folks' eyes on them, they felt they had to be proper.)
Her inability to cope with housework, cooking, balancing budgets, etc. (her parents treated her as if she were a trust fund baby and had no need to learn these things) made the H short tempered, and his spending so much time working (he was an accountant, then went to law school) made her feel neglected, so to get him jealous she started flirting with a Bad Boy who came to town, deliberately leading him on to make the H jealous. Angry at hubby for having to work late and not take her dancing, she went with BB instead, and was dumb enough to stop at his place afterward for a drink (she didn't want him to think she wasn't sophisticated, what a NINCOMPOOP), and nearly got raped! The H showed up, thought it was mutual lust, hit BB and told the h she was a slut, and their marriage was over! This spiraled into craziness, as the h winds up in a rundown house with the BB and some other shady characters (both men and women), where BB makes her drink some whiskey, she ends up in a fog, and the next thing you know, the cops are there, it's a drug bust, and a picture of her in bed with BB is in the local paper! (Nothing happened, they had both passed out on the bed.) Needless to say, that was the end of her marriage and her life in the town.
The story picks up eight years later, when she has to return to settle some trouble with family real estate (not worth going into). She's made a new life for herself in LA, has a good career, a lot of material stuff, but no man in her life. (She never got over her ex-hubby and didn't want any other man. Also, anyone she met seemed to just be after her body.) The H, however, has apparently moved on, is a partner in a law firm, and is engaged to be married. (For once, you get an OW who's a good person rather than a vindictive bitch.) This book switches the usual narrative, as here it's the H who accuses the h of cheating, won't listen to what she has to say, plans to marry someone else and makes snarky comments to the h, pretending he couldn't care less about her. Usually, you get the reverse.
As the story goes on, you tend to be on the h's side, especially with all the crappy townspeople, like a waitress who tries to cause trouble, an old friend who lost touch with the h all this time and yet has no problem with dumping all her troubles on her and sounding like a whiny brat, and the woman's judgmental husband, who tells the h the H is better off without her. What a bunch of jerks! It's enough to make everyone in a small town run to the big city!
I was on the h's side (figuring she paid for her dumb mistakes) but then it's soon apparent that she hasn't changed at all! She's still the same entitled, self-centered young woman she was before! If leaving her hometown changed her into a better person, then returning changed her right back again! She had gotten to know the OW, decided she liked her, wanted the H to be happy with her and wished them the best, even went on a few dates with a local hunk (the OM in the story and a nice guy, too) to put the H out of her mind, but then a slow dance with the H (and too much touching) gets them both hot and horny, and the next thing you know, she decides she wants him back! She even informs the OW of this, right after she confessed the whole story of why she and the H divorced (he never told the OW everything about it) and the OW felt sympathy for her! She flat out tells her she still loves the H, wants him back, and while she won't make any moves to seduce him (how noble of her), if he tries to seduce her, she won't stop him! UNBELIEVABLE!!!
I was so disgusted, I stopped reading it through and just skimmed. The h is no better, BTW. Even though he decides he wants a life with the OW (despite her being predicable and bland, as he sees her), and believes he could never trust the h again, he still wants to get in her panties, and (just like she said) she didn't try to stop him! To Hell with his fiancée, it seems! The only thing that stopped them from doing the deed was his parents unexpectedly showing up, when they were both getting naked!! Well, that was IT for me! I didn't bother even skimming the rest!
WHAT WAS THE AUTHOR SMOKING WHEN SHE WROTE THIS BOOK???? It must have been pretty strong!!
I couldn't read anymore after that, because I didn't want a HEA for those two jerks! (I would have liked to see the OW and OM get together, because they were both really nice people, much too good for the H and h!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2025
This is a second chance story. He’s a besotted H. And she doesn’t deserve him. He should have stayed with the OW.
November 3, 2015
The h was a nasty piece of goods. She was a spoiled selfish child who was in no way prepared to be a wife. She didn't know how to cook and she wouldn't clean her house. She just wanted a good time all the time. Her young husband, who was working hard as an accountant and trying to make a living, didn't want to go out and party all the time and complained about the nasty house so she came up with the brilliant idea to make him jealous. She started going about with a newcomer and stupidly got herself in a compromising position. The story opens eight years later when she has come back to town to settle some of her mother's business affairs. Her ex is now an attorney and she gets together with him for advice. He has moved on and is engaged to a nice lady. Of course h wins out in the end even though she didn't deserve him.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews