Wait a Lonely Lifetime

by Leigh Verrill-Rhys

Sylviana Langdon's marriage went bad from the start. She married the wrong guy, and there was no chance of ever making him right -- not for her. Divorced and dating again, she can't stop thinking about a smart guy she met a few weeks before Steve came into her life. Eric Wasserman walked away from her with no explanation back then. What would he want with an airhead artist's model now, fifteen years and two little girls later?
Captain Wasserman's best buddy, Steve Langdon, saved his life and stole his girl. The career Army officer's second-in-command drops a pretty blue envelope on his desk. The handwriting isn't familiar, but the name pulls the pin on the grenade that has been in Eric's mind since he walked away from the green-eyed girl his buddy wanted.
When he doesn't reply to either of the two letters and a third arrives, his ungentlemanly behavior threatens the morale of his combat support unit. For the sake of his unit, Eric takes the hit from his best buddy's wife, wondering why Steve has put her up to writing to a man she doesn't know.

202 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

A native of Paris Hill, Maine, Leigh spent most of her childhood and early adult years in San Francisco before emigrating to Wales to marry and raise three sons. She has been a writer, editor and lecturer for most of her life, intermingled with career portfolios in marketing, finance and community arts projects.

An award-winning editor, she has published three volumes of women’s autobiographical writing about their lives in Wales and during World War II. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Welsh Academy and several RWA chapters. Wait a Lonely Lifetime is her first published novel.

Leigh admits to running with scissors and leaping before she looks.

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Kindle Freebie and worth what I paid :-) This story is totally implausible and yet I finished it anyway. Story is that Sylviana was at a party and met Eric and fell immediately in love with him. She was dating his friend Steve who had previously saved Eric's life in battle, so Steve told Eric he owed it to him to back off and he did. Steve marries her and they have two kids and an unhappy marriage that eventually fails. Once she is divorced she decides to look up Eric and see what has become of him and finds out he is still single and has been carrying a torch for her for 15 years! The writing could have been so much better! You don't really like most of the characters because they are so one dimensional. The sequence of events is implausible at best and ridiculous. While I've seen vengeful spouses in contentious divorces before, this one took the cake. Can't say as I'd recommend this book.

[Kageashi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A stirring novel, though somewhat lacking in depth and an ending that doesn't feel like true resolution or closure.

Overall, the story of Sylviana Innocenti (really? Could the symbolism be any more blatant?) and Matt Wasserman is a careful dance of two hearts after years of separation and heartbreak - hers due to her ex-husband's infidelity, his for allowing his best friend to take the love of his life away from him. They gradually feel their way through the key blocks they're each holding onto, albeit with many missteps.

The pacing of the novel is awkward - in places stunted, in other places it feels like events are compressed. The end result is an adequate, if fairly unbelievable story. The saving grace I found in the story was in the final chapter, which required two read throughs of the chapter to fully appreciate.

Overall, I'd say that the book was entertaining, if not stellar. I wouldn't mind seeing how some of the remaining loose ends get wrapped up, should the characters have another story (I haven't yet checked).

[Loverlypurple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet second chance romance. Loved the character of Eric and Sylviana and her two daughters. Once I started reading this book it was hard to put it down. I would liked more of the story, I wasn't expecting it to end when it did, I was really enjoying the way the story was going and then it just ended without warning or conclusion. Still worth the read.

[Regencyfan93 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book ended abruptly, it could have gotten more stars, if it felt like there was a conclusion. It seemed to be about how one bully used his power or brazenness to ruin the loves of those around him.

[Leigh Verrill-Rhys]

This novel will be published by Avalon Books in April 2012.

[Griff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute shorter story. Enjoyed the banter and the relationships. DD is a real hero.

[Carol Wilkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book but did not like how it ended

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good read but did not like the ending. It felt like it just abruptly stopped.