Illusions of Spring

By Annabelle Corrick Beach

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972148604
• ISBN13: 9780972148603
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: West Highland Press
• Length: 311 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 13 years and up

Customer Reviews

Unusual Political Novel

Rarely is a political novel so amusing and absorbing. It's focused on a reunion romance to boot. The author clearly knows these characters. Their interdynamics ring crystal clear and true. Eugenia's home-town reception as a new political candidate is ironically hilarious. And the fun is well-tempered by riveting suspense. Who wants to subvert Eugenia's campaign? Her former fiance who has already betrayed her once? The chief of staff who's so media-savvy and at the center of everything? The rambunctious governor? What about her ornery aunt Leoni who is always pushing her own social agenda? This novel is a richly-served treat, well-conceived and well executed. And heck, after a spring that never really came, it was great to immerse into this Midwest springtime milieu, storms and all.

Wonderful Summer Vacation Read

This romantic suspense novel really helped me enjoy my time off. It starts right in the action with Eugenia receiving a surprise message from her fiance whom she never expected to see again. Jake is a cool political science professor. They both get involved in a dangerous political campaign in a Midwest capital and fall in love this time for real.

A Great Springtime Treat!

This ensemble of charcters is very entertaining. I love it when Governor Milton Barnes and Eugenia's Aunt Leoni face off at Eugenia's swearing in ceremony. I also like how the hero Jake is so real and human in his conflict between his love for Eugenia and his wish to join the governor's political team. Also, Chief of Staff Peter Walford is a real reptile with his cobra head and constant machinations with the media. Best of all, though, there's no gratuitous anthing anywhere. Just good, solid, literary writing. The one suggestive scene? Nothing explicit here, but lots to ponder ... A great springtime treat set in this season in the American Midwest.

AGATHA WEIGHS IN ...

I find the cozy village atmosphere to be delightful. The ensemble characters are suitably eccentric and at odds with each other. Aunt Leoni is a Miss Marple after my own heart, the more interesting because she participates in the mischief-making herself at one point. This is, of course, more of a romance than a mystery--romantic suspense, if you will--so I can appreciate that Eugenia and Jake maintain the center stage. The happier romance genre also explains, presumably, why a cat becomes a character (as a cupid) rather then merely a tool of atmosphere as I used one to describe: "It smells a bit of the cat." Also, there is great jeopardy for the heroine, but there are no grisly scenes of demise. I confess, much as I enjoyed the book, that I would have cut the cat and whacked the governor. --Agatha C.

Great, fast read

I really liked this book. The characters are vibrant, the plot is exciting and filled with unexpected turns, and the resolution is very satisfying. If you want something that absorbs you for a few hours and leaves you with good feelings, I recommend this book.