Just A Drop in the Ocean

by Grant Leishman

Just A Drop in the Ocean is a towering love story that spans the continents and a generation. Be swept up in the power of their love and the belief that love truly can conquer all.

Just a Drop in the Ocean; a moving and beautiful story of two soul-mates, relentlessly searching for each other across time and distance.

Two teenagers connect as pen-pals in the 1970's and have their futures together all mapped out, until that pesky thing called life, gets in the way.

Follow the separate adventures of Teresa Mercado and Nicholas Stevenson in Just a Drop in the Ocean as they each search for that most elusive of all dreams - happiness!

Through the trials and tribulations of domestic abuse, political chicanery, the criminal underworld, prison and redemption, we follow them as they seek their own personal fulfillment.

Can they ever be happy without each other? Will these star-crossed lovers ever manage to reconnect.

401 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2015

About the author

I am an expatriate New Zealander living in Manila, The Philippines, with my wife and two step-daughters.

At age 55, after careers in Finance and Journalism, I have finally discovered my true passion in life - writing; and I truly believe I am now "living the dream".

Reviews

[Ellie Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Grant Leishman comes A Drop in the Ocean, a charming tale of romance, deceit, and accountability for one's actions. Set between the Philippines and New Zealand, we follow the journeys of Teresa and Nick, two long lost pen-pals.

Having lost the contact they craved as adolescents, both try to move on and find romance, but neither finds what they need in their partners. There is a recurring theme of emotional manipulation that sees both Teresa and Nick desperately cling to unhealthy relationships. This story warns potential readers of the signs of emotional manipulation, both in men and women.

At first, I disliked Teresa as she allowed herself to be used not only as a sexual object, but as a fall-guy for people in political power. I suppose that I also felt a similar way about Nick's character when he first marries. He allows his hopes and aspirations to disappear, clinging to the company of his new wife, no matter how dire his financial situation gets.

I enjoyed the author's style immensely. It made for fluid reading and gave a clear sense of the emotional roller-coaster of a journey that the main characters find themselves on. The plot developed at a steady pace and struck a good balance between descriptive language, dialogue, and action.

The only thing that caught me by surprise was the thirty-year time jump between chapters one and two as we hadn't gotten to know the characters yet. This was a finely crafted tale that I could not put down.

Recommended for lovers of romance.
Rated 5 stars.

[Iva Kenaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story about two childhood pen-pal friends, Teresa and Nick, and the different yet somewhat similar roads they take later in life.

I would say this is a book very based on character study, so for readers who appreciate such an approach this will be a jewel. The characters grow on you with time and however strange their decisions and actions may so often be, it’s all believable because of the brilliant character development. In a way, both characters seemed naïve to me at first, but ended up stronger in the end. Also the author has a nice way with words, and so I found the book a very compelling, fast-paced read. It has a lot of drama, romance, and love hurt, and it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster.

It was also refreshing for me to read a book set in the Philippines as that’s uncommon for me, and the mood of the place was certainly something that I have appreciated. I wished I could have those morning cups of coffee with Teresa, and the sweet mango delicacies with her younger self.

Last, but not least, I was happy that despite the darkness and painful situations the characters get into, it had a brightness to cling to in the end… I look forward to read more of the author’s work in the future.

[Carol Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this heartwarming love story, Just a Drop in ocean, by Grant Leishman, though when I first began reading the book I wasn’t certain about it. I was a bit jolted when the story jumped from a pair of preteen pen pals to two adults heading off in separate directions in their own respective countries. However, as the story unfolded, I soon became immersed in this fascinating romantic tale to the point that I found it difficult to put down.

The two protagonists, Theresa and Nick, are wonderful and so real that at times I just wanted to shout at Nick to wake up already and stop being a yes man to his demanding wife. Often I also felt like trying to shake some sense into Teresa so that she would no longer put up with the abuse from her cheating rat of a husband. The plot is realistic, too and for the most part the pacing is steady, if drawn out a bit on a few occasions. I didn’t understand the use of the word “ha” which was peppered throughout much of the dialog, but I assume it has something to do with the local dialect or current popular slang, and I didn’t find it troublesome or offensive in the least.

This book is quite long, but definitely worth taking the time to read. I gave it 5 stars and am looking forward to reading more by Mr. Leishman. I do heartily recommend Just a Drop in the Ocean to all romance lovers.

[Michael Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute cracker of a novel!

At its heart, it's a romance, the tale of how two teenage penpals, one in New Zealand, one in the Philippines, reconnect and finally become a couple after drifting apart for 30 years. As such, it's a beautiful and heartwarming story and you really feel their delight when their lives really come together.

But there's so much that happens along the way! They both endure unhappy marriages, trials and tribulations. I don't want to give any spoilers, but everything that goes on in their home and work lives is so dramatic and occasionally harrowing. Mistakes are made and paid for. A lot of it really is edge of the seat stuff and I genuinely skipped sleep to keep reading "just a few more pages" to see how certain situations worked out.

There's a lot of fascinating detail about life and politics in the Philippines too, it's always welcome to have your horizons broadened.

Ultimately, it's a novel that leaves a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Don't miss it!

[Colin Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a lovely brilliantly written story. It starts with pen pals from an early age ( that brought back memories) then like most pen pals life gets in the way and they move on. Yet with Nick and Teresa you always know there will be more. As you follow them it becomes moving and enchanting and the reader is longing for them to meet again and the reader is certainly left on tenterhooks. It's lovingly portrayed, with a sense you want to give the characters a kick up the backside, but that's what makes this story so good. I'm beginning to enjoy reading books from indie authors more then the published legacy authors, Leishman is no exception. This is good. Get it, you won't be sorry.

Just as an aside it's interesting to learn more about the Philippines as it's a country I know little about. Five stars with pleasure and the pen pals deserve an A+

[Helen Fryer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this on free promotion kindle a while ago, as I'd read Leishmen's Second Coming on recommendation from a friend.

I love the story, the premise behind this. Its a romance (but not your typical mills and boon style romance) and the two characters and their lives make for a great build up to what you're hoping is a happy ending.

What did throw me, and it was the same in Second coming, but this time I found it distracting, was the constant use of 'ha' at the end of sentences. It is mostly out of place, and grammatically doesn't make sense. In the end I was distracted by the the 'ha's' and whilst I enjoyed the story I found it hard to engage.

I am still planning on picking up Rise of the Anti Christ (once the price lowers) and hope to continue reading books by this author.

[Ken Fry]

I would never have belied I could enjoy a romantic book like this so much.
The trials and tribulations of two lovers, Nick and Teresa, who have never met and are separated by
by Continents I found riveting.
GL skilfully up to a denouement and finale, which I found surprisingly moving and emotional. I suspect also that a fair amount of autobiographical material found its way into his work
The story is easy to read, unpretentious and the characters in the main, likeable and loving.
It kept me going and I desperately wanted to know what the next twist of fate would be. It kept me going and I confess I was ploughing through it was past my 'lights out' and bedtime routine.

[Belart Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longing love, hard life, and pen pals.

Just a Drop in the Ocean was an overall enjoyable read for me, though I had quite a few problems with the book's middle act. Throughout I was treated to the true to life, poignant, cultured, often hilarious, and deeply troublesome lives of the book's two leads Teresa Mercado and Nick Stevenson. I was also treated to two very distinct cultures in the book, as the Philippines and New Zealand feature heavily in the story, about as much as the two leads. So first we'll go over what I liked about the story, then what I didn't like, followed by my overall thoughts. A Drop in the Ocean was a long book and I had tons of thoughts about it throughout (it's a thought provoker no doubt), but I'll keep this as short as I can.

This book was written in two strong mature voices that were very distinct from one another. I found it to be overall well written with enjoyable and sympathetic protagonists, though there were times when the protagonists would push my buttons with just how much they were willing to be pushed around. The book opens up very strong with the first third being chocked full of beautiful metaphors and deeply descriptive and thought provoking prose. The descriptive style remains throughout along with a smattering of Filipino language and a wealth of evocative vocabulary words (that I had to highlight and look up) which all made the book a much more enjoyable read throughout. There was also a constant undercurrent of humor both dry and standard which kept the book from falling into its oftentimes depressing subject matter. The whole journey felt like a true human experience more times than not.

Of the two leads, I found Teresa Mercado to be the most enjoyable to read about from chapter to chapter. Teresa is a woman with all the attributes most men would kill for. She's smart, compassionate, fun, loyal, and ambitious, not to mention smoking hot. Throughout the book, life continues to hit Teresa hard and yet she continues to fight back and make her way through her struggles with her family intact. If Teresa loses a job, she will find a better one. If Teresa if cornered, she will fight out of that corner. That makes her the strongest lead, I'd say. Her personal life was very interesting as well, considering all of the various careers she found herself in and she never strayed from her one true goal, keeping her family together and happy. Nick was enjoyable (in parts) as well, but his life was much more stationary than Teresa's, which isn't to say he didn't have his problems. He had two massive ones that haunted him throughout the book. I just found him to be an overall weaker lead as he seemed more passive to his problems. It was great to see how Teresa and Nick lived such diverse lives that still ran parallel to one another and how many close encounters they unknowingly had throughout, like fate was guiding them the entire time.

Another cool little thing about the book was how it was a time capsule encapsulating several moments in turning technology throughout the decades. We got to see the start of the internet age, the boom of webcamming, the rise of social media, etc. I loved seeing how Nick and Teresa responded to these new changes. Beyond that the book takes some interesting twists and turns and goes on quite a few tangents (for better or worse).

As much as I loved the book, it still has some glaring flaws that hold it back from being one of my favorite reads (which it could've easily been). The first flaw is the length of it. I feel it's far far longer than it needs to be to tell the story it wants to tell. I attribute this to the overreaching and repetitive middle act which follows the same formula for both Teresa and Nick for so long that it becomes predictable and boring for as long as that stretch of the story persists. Typically for Teresa it would go something like: she builds her life up in a new city, something comes to mess up that life (usually the same antagonist), she's broke and moves elsewhere, and the cycle repeats a few times. Usually some new friend of hers steps in and helps her out along the way, but see the problem with this is it's done enough that you see right through it. Unfortunately the formula repeats often enough that it majorly impeded much of my enjoyment with the book and padded it out too much for me.

Feeding right in with my last problem were the two main antagonists for the book, who both happened to be the spouses of both leads. You have Nick's gold-digging and possibly insane wife Marivic and Teresa's womanizing and abusive husband Marlon. The two started off well enough, when you could see shades of their greed and abuse but eventually they become so over-the-top in their abuse that I could only see them as cartoon villains. The book has such a fine autobiographical feel that this really takes me out of the experience. A lot of books use convenient excuses to get protagonists out of trouble, but this one use convenient excuses to get the protagonists into trouble and that convenience usually comes in the form of the spouses from hell. The antagonists also weaken the protagonists to the point where they aren't enjoyable to read. Both protagonists become glorified yes men/women whenever confronted with their spouses and putty in their hands. Nick especially suffers from this to the point that I wanted to skip through his chapters, but Teresa can't escape it either unfortunately. Luckily this mostly only lasts for the middle part of the book and once through that the protagonists return to form.

Once we get to the final act things get good again and the book ends on a very enjoyable high note. Altogether, I'd say that this was indeed a book that spoke to me on several levels and one that felt intensely personal. It definitely felt autobiographical all the way through and once the author all but confirms it during the final chapter, I could only nod my head that my hunch was correct. I've experienced a love like Teresa and Nick's, trading letters, texts, and emails with a few penpals in my lifetime and I've experienced unrequited love to the same degree that Teresa seems to feel throughout her life. Both leads desires for that partner that got away, it definitely speaks to me and the hardships they faced speaks to me as well. Their struggles were my struggles and that's what kept me turning the page. I wanted to see if life got better for them, just like I wonder if life will get better for myself. All in all, I found their struggles and what they gained by the end of them to be empowering. It mimicked how I felt throughout my time reading the book, almost beat for beat. So at the end of the day, I'd say that Just a Drop in the Ocean was an enjoyable read that began strong and ended on a high note.


Positives:
+Strong Mature Voice
+Well written
+Enjoyable and sympathetic protagonists
+An in-depth look into Filipino and New Zealand culture and characters.
+A smattering of Filipino language.
+A wealth of evocative and useful vocabulary words.
+Well rounded vocabulary of words
+Loads of humor throughout.
+The story speaks to me on many levels, encompassing much of real life
+Pen pals in love also speaks to me, and the pain of unrequited love
+Some nice subtle mature touches early on
+Strong friendships (mainly due to Teresa's appeal)
+Descriptive
+nice use of metaphor early on
+Lots of deep descriptive thought provoking writing at beginning
+Teresa's career choices and ambition, her political life, leadership
+Many time capsule moments, such as the start of the internet age, webcamming, the rise of social media,
+Teresa is pleasantly open-minded
+Book takes some surprising turns and tangents (for better or worse)
+A few risqué and funny moments. Lots of deep and profound ones too
+A decent amount of forethought, detail, and research are put into each situation
+I do like the realism of life that occurs in the book
+I like the ending (very hard fought happiness)

Negatives:
-Probably longer than it needs to be.
-Repetitive middle act (build up to happiness, brief happiness, convenient problem).
-Middle act paints everyone as mostly unenjoyable Nick and Teresa's weakness, their husband and wife's callousness, other characters suddenly turning antagonistic, though there are some sub characters who remain enjoyable.
-Many books use convenient excuses to solve problems. This one uses them to create problems.
-Nick's lack of backbone really is troublesome and stretches on so long that it borders on unreadable for me.
-Occasional odd punctuation, sometimes thoughts don't have quotes or italics to separate them.
-The antagonists of the book are sometimes cartoonishly malicious to the point it's unbelievable.
-Some subtly would have been nice in some places, like when Nick and Teresa cross paths, the author instead spells it out with intruding narration.
-Narration spoilers oftentimes ruin later scenes scene we're told the outcome ahead of time, most egregiously, the scene with Mr. Aguilar.

[Lila Mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first reason I chose this story was the unusual setting and background stories of the main characters. The first-hand knowledge of the author about both New
Zealand and the Philippines show and it's such a refreshing change. The author shows real talent at putting us readers in the shoes of his characters, and not just his two heroes. For all their flaws, it was particularly interesting to get a sense if what Marlon or Marivic thought.

My heart went out to Teresa from the start, and I felt the pain of her struggles and anguish. Other readers wonder why she put up with her abusive husband, but clearly they don't understand how hard it is for a woman to flee and be able to protect her children, anywhere in the world, in a conservative country like the Philippines even more. Congrats to the author for making his clear. I had more problems with Nick, because of the simple fact he chose a mail bride, but by all means, it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy his character development and how the story went.

Of course I rooted for those two to get back together. The ending was great and I'm really happy I gave this story a chance!

[Angela Lockwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve wanted to read another book by this author ever since reading ‘The Photograph’, that was a supernatural thriller with a fair bit of tongue in cheek humour. A drop in the ocean is a more serious affair but again a very good read. What I like about Grant Leishman is his ability to create a mature character. They are complex characters formed by their experiences and not without faults. This portrait about two penpals who lose touch but never stop thinking about each other was fascinating. Alternating between New-Zealand and the Philippines it offered us a glimpse into the ordinary lives of two cultures. There was still a bit of wry humour in the form of Nick’s wife Marivic who came into Nick’s life like a tropical cyclone. Excellent read and a nice reminder that romance is sometimes slow burning and ageless.

[Ian Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author definitely has a penchant for thought-provoking tales. This one involves two star-crossed lovers that find that for their paths to truly come together, both have to grow emotionally and spiritually first. And life’s classroom being what it is, that means a lot of suffering and heartache before they wake up to the error of their ways. That journey forms the body of the story. The characters, understandably, are not that likable at first, and for a long time, but they grow on you in that, unlike many, they allow life to exert a humanizing effect on them.

The exotic travel locations in the story point up the tale for fans of travel lit.

[Pandora Spocks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Drop in the Ocean by Grant Leishman is a gut-wrenching, emotional story about a pair, Nick and Teresa, who meet as pen pals when they're school children and seem destined to be together, no matter what fate throws in their way. But their journeys take individual and dark turns when someone intervenes in their budding romance. It's only decades later that their paths converge, and it was high time. This gritty and honest story reads a lot like autobiography. It's well worth the read as a harrowing and inspiring tale. Highly recommended!

[Sarah Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful and refreshing story. The author takes you on a journey between a man and a woman, who met via a penpal relationship and built a real connection as students. However, as time passes they lose contact but they never forget each other and the bond they felt.

As a reader you are then taken on a journey through their separate lives as they marry, start families, but are never quite happy with their life - something is missing.

I won't give away the ending, it is not as predictable as you would expect, but it is heartwarming all the same.

Great story, highly recommended.

[Reet Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrigue after intrigue - add to that a love story and you have a great read!

[Michael Wilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching love story
When two teenagers, Nick and Teressa become penpals – one in New Zealand and the other in the Philippines – they thought they had their future planned out together. But life is never that simple. As they find themselves moving their own separate ways, they experience unhappy marriages and face heartrending challenges along the way until the reader is left to wonder how they are ever going to get together again. Luckily with the expert help of the author who skilfully blends their stories together, the reader can share their feelings of hope and despair along a roller coaster ride until their problems are finally resolved. At last, they are able to find true happiness again, as well as discovering a new vocation for Nick that answers his creative ambitions – an echo perhaps of the author’s own achievement in living his dream. This a touching love story that could well end up as a TV drama series, and well deserved.
Mike


Merged review:

A touching love story
When two teenagers, Teressa and Nick become penpals – one in the Philippines and the other in New Zealand – they thought they had their future planned out together. But life is never that simple. As they find themselves moving their own separate ways, they experience unhappy marriages and face heartrending challenges along the way until the reader is left to wonder how they are ever going to get together again. Luckily with the expert help of the author who skilfully blends their stories together, the reader can share their feelings of hope and despair along a roller coaster ride until their problems are finally resolved. At last, they are able to find true happiness again, as well as discovering a new vocation for Nick that answers his creative ambitions – an echo perhaps of the author’s own achievement in living his dream. This a touching love story that could well end up as a TV drama series, and well deserved.
Mike

[Sarah Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sarah Stuart for Readers' Favorite

Grant Leishman’s book, The Second Coming, opens with a man recovering consciousness in hospital, and trying to remember his identity. Whoever he is, he’s sure he has a mission to accomplish and very little time to do it. Gradually his memory returns. He, Jose Castillo from the Philippines, is the son of God, and he has been ‘allowed’ to return to Earth. The second coming was promised over two millennia ago, but nowhere in the bible is there a caveat: this is Jesus Christ’s last chance! Far from returning to save the people who condemned Him to death, He has one year to pull man back from the brink of annihilation. God intends to destroy what He regards as a flawed project and in excess of seven billion people depend on Jose, known to his friends as JC, for their survival.
Intriguingly different, often funny, Grant Leishman’s The Second Coming is a joy to read. He contrives, by means of humour that is never malicious, not to offend those with Christian beliefs, but the story is rooted in the bible just enough to enable the suspension of disbelief. Amongst all the electrifying fictional action, JC performs a miracle and visits a cathedral where he clears the Filipinos hawking goods outside as uncharacteristically violently as Christ did when he drove the moneychangers from the temple in Jerusalem. Ma, Maria Lyn Manyanan, has to be Mary Magdalen, and there have been suggestions that she was more to Jesus than a prostitute He forgave, so JC’s romance is well-grounded. “Lack of mass communication” is in the lyrics of a song from ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, implying it was a problem in 33AD but it’s debatable if the worldwide links that exist today help or hinder Mr Leishman’s JC.

[Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was completely hooked all the way through this amazing new read from this author.

The story of Nick and Teresa starts in their school years as they are connected through a school pen pal program. Teresa in the Philippines and Nick in New Zealand quickly form a connection, feel that they have met their soulmate... but unfortunately both lose contact with one another for reasons they do not understand.

Then as we all know, life just keeps going, and both are caught up in their own problems, relationships and humanistic errors of judgement. There were times where I wanted to just jump into the pages of this engaging read and shake the characters ( a sign for me that it is written so well that you are truly invested in the story). The book takes you through time with both Teresa and Nick's stories developing through the years, but the stories are intertwined so cleverly that it flows and keeps you moving like short chapters. You keep longing for the moment when Nick and Teresa finally connect again, and the almost misses keep your heart in check!

This is not just a romance novel, its a contemporary drama and real story that many of us can relate to. The 'what ifs' of our lives and sometimes the regrets (that not everyone gets a happy ending for)... A truly wonderful read that I will highly recommend!

[Gordon Bickerstaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended to lovers of a great true or truly romantic story.

This is a romantic drama that does work well. The characters are well fleshed out and believable and their issues are not too far-fetched. However they do make a series errors of judgement, and while I might think some things are idiotic, people are people, and irrational decisions are commonplace in everyday life. There is a lot packed into this book as if follows the lives of two teenagers and their troubled journey through life. A lot of thought provoking moments give depth to the characters and along the way there is some welcome dollops of humour. Throw in contrasting cultures of the Philippines and New Zealand and it all adds up to an epic story. I like a good ending and I can say I was satisfied with how things turned out in the end. There are some minor editing issues but not enough to detract enjoyment from the reading. Intriguingly, the author states in the front matter that the work is total fiction but it reads strongly like an autobiography. Highly recommended to lovers of a great true or truly romantic story.

[Angela Gascoigne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood friendship, nurtured by pen and paper and carried over land and sea, develops into so much more as Teresa and Nick grow into teenagers. They both long for the day they will finally meet, and take their relationship to the next level.

One day, out of nowhere, their only means of communication is severed and neither knows the reason why.

As the years pass life deals out some cruel blows. Both Nick and Teresa make some terrible life choices, but despite all they are going through, one thing they share, is a desire to find each other again.

This beautiful love story had me on a knife edge throughout as I wondered what route their lives would take next.

Although I wanted to give these two characters a good shake on numerous occasions throughout the story, I bonded with them both immediately and empathised with them, rooting for the happy ending I so wanted them to find. But did they get that happy ending? That kind of information I cannot divulge! So there’s only one way to find out… Read Just a Drop in The Ocean, yet another fantastic read by Grant Leishman!

[Ellie Midwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story, a story of love, hope and second chances. Teresa and Nick start off as two strangers, two school-kids, one in the Philippines and another one in New Zealand. Slowly their pen-pal friendship develops into a romance, however, despite the bright plans for the future, suddenly one day Teresa doesn’t get a long awaited response back. Not knowing about each other’s motives, the two drift apart and jump into relationships, which bring both only misery.
I absolutely admired Teresa’s strength, with which she fought for her and her children’s happiness, even though many times I just couldn’t understand why she kept allowing her abusive husband to ruin her life again and again. I don’t know who was worse, Teresa’s husband Marlon or Nick’s wife, Marivic, who was draining him of his money to live a luxurious lifestyle and not care that one day her husband might pay a high price for it. I was rooting for the characters and wanted them to finally get the happiness they both deserved, and the ending was absolutely perfect. A great, inspirational story! Highly recommended!

[Jana Petken · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Nick and Teresa connect as pen pals, they, like most children, have no idea what is around the corner as they grow to adulthood.
This was a fascinating and highly enjoyable read for many reasons. I particularly enjoyed my glimpse at the Philippines and the characters’ individual, yet interconnected stories.

I will call this a poignant and realistic tale of choices, love, hurdles, and fate. The characters were developed beautifully; each walking their own paths, with trials and tribulations, which shaped them as people.

I found myself becoming quite emotional, at times, especially when focusing on Teresa and her turbulent marriage. I was invested in the outcome – hoping – waiting for the two protagonists to finally join up, after losing the wonderful connection that they once felt. The mark of a good read, for me, is when I cannot wait to pick the book back up. This was so well written, I almost felt as though I knew the characters.
A deserving 5 stars.

[Mary Yarde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was it possible to fall in love with someone you have never met? Teresa Mercado has loved Nicholas Stevenson since the first time they exchanged letters with each other, back when they were teenagers. But the chances of them ever meeting each other is slim to non-existent. She lives in the Philippines, whereas he called New Zealand home.

Just A Drop In The Ocean is a compelling page turner. It isn't the typical romance ~ the story takes you on the journey of the protagonist's lives. It reads, at times, more like an autobiography. There are some very dark moments in the story ~ Teresa suffers years of physical and mental abuse from her husband ~ and Nicholas spirals into the life of criminality to keep up with the demands of his high-maintenance wife.

I thought this was a very well-crafted book. The story was very real in the telling and believable. Just A Drop In The Ocean a sit-down-and-finish-book and one that I enjoyed.

[Ju Ephraime · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was written in a reflective kind of way, going back and forth between the two main characters, Teresa and Nick, as they meet as pen pals and loses touch as the years roll along. The author uses very flowery phrases, “she was a quivering, almost over-ripe fruit, ready for the plucking.” This is a story about second chances and the undying nature of true love. I had a bit of a problem with Marlon’s relation with Teresa, but that’s just me. I believe she should have put an end to it after the first beating, but then there wouldn’t be a story, would there. This story gives hope when there seems to be none and everything looks dark and hopeless… suddenly, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and life begins again, this time with Teresa and Nick. This story reminds one, where there’s life there’s always hope. Very inspiring story.

[T.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging and emotionless.

This is a finely written character based drama. The different strands of the story contrast beautifully, and the characters are well written and engaging. The plot is dramatic, without falling into melodrama. The emotional roller coaster keeps you on the edge of the seat, wincing as you feel the pain of the main characters.

Merged review:

A heartfelt and intense drama. The two central characters take you on journeys straight to the darkest corners of human nature. These are tales of how love can twist us, and seem to break us, but ultimately how it offers us the hope we need to heal and to find happiness. Incredibly well written, with an eye for character flaws and relationship mechanics, this is a thought provoking drama that never quite descends into melodrama.

Highly recommended.

[Sharon Brownlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story of connection, love, hope, despair, trials and tribulations across the globe. I liked the way the author's characters 'chose' each other and the insights in the location of both Teresa and Nick and the way he moved their story forward.

As the well drawn characters move the story forward their lives definitely makes the reader pause for thought. I like the way Grant Leishman writes, with honesty and openness, both in his dialogue and narrative. For all Teresa went through she still has an air of naivety and hope, where at times I thought there was none for her.

Although a longer book than I would normally read it seemed quite short, simply because I enjoyed it.

[Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loved this well written book, which flows beautifully. 2000 years on and Jesus returns to earth to save humanity once more after his father (God) decides he has been sickened with the world he has created and what the human race has become.Such a thought provoking book that really made me think, 'but what if?' Brilliant humour attached to this book along with love and romance, and suitable for all denominations of all faiths as Jesus tries to bring them all together. This is also a lovely light-hearted story of bringing Jesus into the digital world we live in. I have downloaded part 11 'Rise of the AntiChrist' and can't wait to read it. I believe part 111 is in the making. Roll on.

[May Panayi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was an amazing book. I loved the two main characters Teresa and Nick from the outset. There were times when I wanted to pick them up and shake them and say, this is not the best way to enjoy your life, stop. But most of the time I just empathised with their plights and willed them through to the better things I just knew [like Te] were coming for them. The last few chapters were so emotional, I cried so much I could hardly read. I hope the characters are real, they certainly felt it to me. If you read one book this year, make this it.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gripping story, tough at times as well as beautiful. It starts with Teresa in the Phillippines and Nick in New Zealand, both making plans to start pen friendships. We don't get to see their letters however as the plot jumps forward to a harsh reality of a now grown up and unhappily married Teresa.
The book details her tough life and depicts much drama and hardship. It is a moving story that will possibly bring a few tears to your eyes. It is also interesting as the reader gets to learn more about life in the Phillippines on the way.
A profound and moving read.

[Deborah McClatchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this wonderful book as a gift for my birthday. What a heart-warming love story between two childhood friends living worlds apart. Teresa lives in the Philippines and Nick in New Zealand. They meet through a school program. Fast forward to the present. I'm not one to give out spoilers, but I found the story poignant and didn't want it to end. Author Grant Leishman takes you through their complicated lives as they grow into adults. Cleverly woven plot and I highly recommend.

[Lucinda Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A LOT OF FUN
The twists and turns on this tale of two young pen friends who lose touch, then almost meet more than once and their individual trials and tribulations make for a great story. Not only was this an excellent read, I also learned a lot about the Philippines and its way of live and the political set up. I laughed and cried for these characters and could not stop turning the pages until the end. A fun book I know people will enjoy.