Never Look Back

by Betsy Brannon Green

Shortly after Sydney Lovell graduates from high school, Craig Cochran, a handsome returned missionary, sweeps her off her feet and they are soon married in the temple. Almost immediately, Sydney gets pregnant and Craig begins school to become a doctor. Life is going exactly as planned, unfolding in utter bliss. The years fly by in a blur as Sydney raises their three children while Craig completes medical School, his internship, and residency. Then the bottom falls out when Craig asks Sydney for a divorce. While working as a waitress and struggling to make ends meet, Sydney meets Cole Brackner, a friendly, attractive, single man, and over time a friendship develops. But Cole's life is complicated as well. He is under pressure to sell his cattle ranch to a developer, and when he resists, his tires are slashed, cattle are poisoned, and horrible rumors start to circulate. And even as Sydney helps Cole unravel these mysteries, the two find themselves in the middle of a dangerous battle against powerful forces dead set on making sure that the truth never sees the light of day. Betsy Green, the best-selling author of Hearts in Hiding, weaves a tale of intrigue, romance, and southern charm

Genres: Lds Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Lds, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Adult

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

"WELCOME!!!!!

If you're not familiar with my books, I write mystery-suspense novels. I am LDS (Mormon) and so are some of my characters, but I have loyal readers from many different faiths. My goal is to engage the reader in my books. I want to make them laugh and cry and worry and dread the end.

Most of my books are set in the fictional town of Haggerty, Georgia - which is loosely based on my grandparents' hometown of Headland, Alabama (the most wonderful place on earth). Each book has an ample supply of romance, suspense, Southern hospitality and even recipies!"

by Betsy Brannon Green on http://www.betsybrannongreen.net/

Reviews

[Shash · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book, at all. I've read other books by the author that I really liked, so I kept thinking this one would get better. It didn't. I often felt like I was just reading a list of what Sydney did that day. I never felt like I really got to know any characters beside Sydney, and she was a bitter woman who used her kids mercilessly to get back at her ex. It was awful! I spent the book aching for the kids, rooting for the ex, and wanting Cole to find someone else.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, this book isn't really that bad. The story is interesting and the characters are believable. It is completely clean and quick to get through. I felt that the 'relationship' premise was good (bitter divorced woman learning to go on and trust love again, lonely rancher feeling pressure from his community and family to sell out) and the plot didn't really need the big action sequence toward the end, but it was fine. I think what made the book not-as-fun is that the main character is such a selfish, bitter woman. It was kind of discouraging to go through the entire story listening to her attitude. I thought Cole was awesome. Maybe the story could have been told from his point of view so we didn't have to see inside Sydney's head so often? I can totally accept that the struggles that she has gone through can contribute to someone becoming bitter, it just doesn't make an enjoyable, light read.

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have only read "Hearts in Hiding" from this author and I REALLY enjoyed it so I was excited to read something else from her. This one was a HUGE disappointment! Now don't get me wrong, I have read a couple books from LDS authors and have liked them, but this one was way too "churchy/preachy" and unbelievable. I didn't like the main character either, so that made it hard. I dont like reading about "poor me, I have an ex husband that wanted a divorce, but is still a good guy and trying to take care of the kids and wants to give me LOADS of money, but I am too good for that.. so I am going to put myself through unnecessary hardship to just prove a point!!

Also, the relationship between the 2 main characters was unbelievable.. even up to the very end of the book I didn't feel ANY chemistry between them! This book didn't even have a real climax till the very end of the book..

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't really recommend this book, so if you liked it, you may want to skip the rest of this.
Almost didn't finish it--but just as I was about to give up and start the new book I just got, it got interesting (finally). I didn't like the main character--she struck me as selfish and narrow-minded, and unreasonable about a great many things (too many). I stuck it out as long as I did because of the "hero"--I liked him, and the whole reason I started this book (besides the author) was because he's a rancher. Most of the secondary characters were shallow at best, and the "bad guys" were almost ridiculously so. And the solution was just too neat and tidy and easy.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like the writing. It seemed to ramble and had no flow. Sometimes it felt like I was reading a list of the things the character was doing that day.
However, it was a good cheesy mindless read with romance. I did not relate with the main character. She was too bossy, unforgiving, and controlling.

[Kimber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a lot of her books over Christmas. (didn't bring any of them home, but thought they were good beach reading material.)

This book, however, sucked. It was horrible. The heroine was a bitter evil shrew. Didn't like it at all.

[Heather Bucheger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. As a woman who has been divorced and found love again, I related to her bitterness about life. While I think as a member of the church, she should have relied on the atonement more, it also is made clear that she wasn’t really there for learning about the gospel. I wish that healing through the atonement had been part of the story as well. She was not the best of Moms because of her bitterness, but i like that Cole was helping her grow in that regard, too. The book overall is good beyond those parts of the story.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading books written by this author. That being said, this book has the most unlikable characters. It was difficult to read, but I stuck with it. I would've been better off to use my time reading almost anything else.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve known bitter divorced women but she was over the top and very very tiring to the soul.

[Dorry Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting how Sydney reacted to her divorce.

[Aili · Rating 1 out of 5]

While technically and stylistically fine, this book gets one star for the premise. I don't have a problem with romance books in general. They are usually the cotton candy of books, and cotton candy is nice every once in a while. But romance books that follow this plot line are subversive and dangerous to the institution of marriage. I have never had a high opinion of Covenant Communications as a publisher, but I did think that they followed the same guiding principles that Deseret Book (and Shadow Mountain) do. Unfortunately, this plot shows a serious lack of judgment or oversight. The main character did everything right in her life except in her choice of husband. He divorces her because he never loved her and now that he's done with medical school he wants the opportunity to date other people. Their kids and stuck in the middle of course. The part that made my blood run cold was when she meets the guy she should have married in the first place. Now, the author never says that outright. But it is pretty obvious. This kind of thinking is Wrong. This book is poisonous to people who are going through a rough time in their marriage (and I've heard that everyone does). It makes me sick.

[Camilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another guilty pleasure book by my favorite (only?) romance author. I particularly like the protagonist in this story because she's sarcastic and has a ton of problems that are all annoying but are easily remedied by having a loving person kindly point them out and help her work through them. Would that life were so simple. The story is fun and I enjoyed rereading it instead of working on my school assignments like I should have.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

From the beginning, I realized that this was not fine literature but I can get past mediocre writing if the plot is worth it. The plot intrigued me until I realized that I knew the ending of the book within the first twenty pages. I kept waiting for some unexpected turn but it went nowhere for me.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This month for Book club we were to read a mystery. So I decided to choose this one. I wanted to make sure it was not gory, scary, or inappropriate.

I have read books by Betsy Brannon Green in the past. I enjoy reading them. They are fun reads~ you do not have to think too hard. I was a bit surprised with the ending.

[Kari Garrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little bit disappointed with this book. The main character, Sydney, is very bitter about her divorce. Not until the last few pages of the book, was I finally able to like her. There was a little bit of healing, forgiveness and some romance, but overall the book was not as good as some of the other books I've read by this author.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book of hers. I really didn't like Sydney. She was rude, moody, and seemed like she just tried too hard to not care about any one. I surprisingly didn't hate her ex husband and loved all of the other characters, except the main one. Still a good book, but not my absolute favorite of hers.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book by this author that I read and I really enjoyed it. Have to only give it a 4 rating because the editing is not the best. The author keeps your interest and sometimes even surprises the reader. That's unusual for an LDS author.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Betsy Brannon Green is a wonderful Author the only reason I marked this one 3 stars is because of the main character, I couldn't relate to her at all and got frustrated with her at times. Still a really good book though!

[Joelle Hauser]

Important not to hold onto bitterness when events happen in yourlife that you have no control over it. Don't use your children as weapons in a divorce. You are punishing them for something they did not do.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little reluctant to read this because I haven't been very interested in LDS authors for the past 3 or 4 years because all the stories are the same... However, this story was different and I enjoyed the mystery that was part of the story.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only made it half way through before I allowed myself to skim bits of the ending and close the book on it. It was too depressing to read about how Sidney was sabotaging anything that was left of her boys' and her life after her divorce.

[Rachel Bori Orme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #2

[Marilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun romance from a different perspective - there is also plenty of mystery and humor! I highly recommend it!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little repetitive in parts, but all in all, good story.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I am a closet reader of LDS fiction. They are horribly written, but a great, cheesy romance with a little suspense. Quite enjoyable.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the suspense of the book but never really liked the main character so even when it turned out to be a happy ending I wasn't thrilled.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book!! A quick read, highly entertaining, and thought provoking. this is one of Betsy Green's best works.

[Brookelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one. This one, along with Hearts in Hiding, had a really cute love story. I love the old ladies in these books. they make me laugh :)

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darling love story/ mystery by Ms. Green. Quirky little story that moves along quickly enough to keep you interested. Safe and predictable as most of her books are, but I just love them anyway!!!

[Mugz · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was fun and intense