Reviewed by Alice DiNizo for Readers' Favorite

Lainey and Sydney were childhood friends. During their high school years, Sydney changed. She wanted to be popular and even mocked Lainey in an effort to achieve her goal. Lainey concentrated on her art, and within a few years, she had attained some approbation.

Lainey’s mother Star was eccentric and somewhat frail. Star required Lainey to return home and care for her. Sydney reappeared in Lainey’s life along with her year-old daughter, Jacqueline. Sydney left Jacqueline in Sydney’s care and then claimed the child had been kidnapped. Fearing for their safety, Lainey fled with Jacqueline. She changed the child’s name to Molly. Alex Connor offered Lainey and Molly shelter and love. Once again Sydney entered their life. Would she play havoc again?

Elizabeth Joy Arnold has crafted a well-written story with a strong and appealing plot that is a mixture of romance and suspense. Its characters, major and minor, are believable. The storyline is good and leads the reader into accepting the fact that life is filled with unexpected events that must be survived. However, in this day of kidnappers, rapists, and murderers, the fact that Lainey takes up so quickly with Alex and follows him to his New Hampshire home is one of the novel's weaknesses. That Sydney and Alex had an affair is interesting but needs filling out. All in all, this is a novel that will draw in many readers and keep them reading. I found it very entertaining.