A Healing Hand

by Monique Hall

After ten years away, Alyssa Martin is back in town. She's had to give up everything she has worked so hard to achieve and is doing her best to forget the reason it was necessary to do so. When she runs into Dean, her friend's older brother, she knows it's best to steer clear. But Dean has other ideas. Dean Daniels has played the field for years and seeing the girl he once admired from afar has stirred up a lot of emotions he's not quite sure how to deal with. But, when Alyssa reveals a shocking secret, he's determined to make her see he's not the man he once was. Will he find a place in her heart? A heartfelt and sensual tale of second chances, A Healing Hand will romance your soul. Short story from the Rocky Romance collection

50 pages, Paperback

Published January 18, 2016

About the author

Monique Hall is an author of contemporary romance and a member of Romance Writers of Australia. She is a self-confessed bibliophile and sniffer of books and has worked as a teacher librarian for many years, sharing her joy of reading with hundreds of children. Recently, she decided to focus on her passion for books and has taken on a position with a well-known children’s publisher.

Monique’s novelette, A Healing Hand, was published in Serenity Press’ 2015 Rocky Romance anthology and has now been released in its own edition. Her short story, Breaking Free, has won second place in RWA’s 2016 Little Gems competition and will be published later this year as part of the Sunstone anthology. She is currently polishing her first manuscript, A Place to Belong. It is a novel inspiring hope, acceptance and belonging and will become the first in a series. Another short story, Tower of Refuge, has been published on this website for your enjoyment and she hopes you consider reading it.

Monique lives in the southern suburbs of Western Australia with her husband and two children. She enjoys photography and soppy romance novels with “happily-ever-afters”.

Reviews

[Kirstie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet, quick read telling the story of one young woman's journey home.

An orchestral violinist, with musical doctorate, Alyssa's world is turned upside down and going home seems the only logical choice. Being close to family is what she needs, that is until Dean Daniels, her childhood crush crosses her path. This is when all her plans change and life takes Alyssa on an adventure well worth living for!

After reading this novella, I cannot wait to see what Ms Hall has in store for the future!

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the mystery of Alyssa’s secret evident from the first page, Monique Hall has found the perfect way to pique the reader’s interest. ‘A Healing Hand’ has the perfect blend of romance, fun and friendship, accompanying a sadness that affects so many people’s lives. Each of the characters in the book were easy to relate to and emote with, including Alyssa’s mother, who is faced with the possibility of losing her daughter. The writing was so detailed that I was able to envision myself being there, witness to everything I read. It takes a true wordsmith to create such illusion, especially in a short story. I recommend this book to all readers who are fifteen years and over, as it deals with issues that may, some day, affect their own lives.

- Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet reunion story, Alyssa and Dean are an opposites attract couple with a shared history. They reconnect on the beach when Alyssa comes home to face her demons. I liked that Dean is the real hero in this story, a man who knows what he wants and doesn't shy away from his responsibilities. I liked their first date as well, those scenes were cute!

[Josie]

I think this would have worked better as a full-length story, or a novella. The pacing was too slow at times, too quick at others. I also felt like the writing style needed a bit of work. My other pet peeve is an abundance of exclamation marks used to set tone, rather than narrative, and that was apparent in this short. I did like the characters though, but felt this couldn't flesh out their stories and decided to DNF this one.