No River Too Wide (Goddesses Anonymous, #3) by Emilie Richards
Contemporary Fiction
Paperback, 496 pages
June 24, 2014
Harlequin MIRA
Reviewed by Tori
Janine (Jan) married Rod Stoddard during a low point in her life. Both her parents had been killed by a drunk driver and Rod became her anchor in the sea she was adrift in. It wasn’t until later that she realized she had married a controlling abusive man. After years of trying to become the “perfect woman” she knew she never would be, she takes advantage of his absence to escape the hell she has been living in. Helping her is an organization called Moving On (fictional) which arranges to secretly move abused women through a human network to safety. Jan chooses to go to Asheville in order to see her daughter and granddaughter before she disappears for good.
Harmony ran away from her abusive home and her mother refused to keep in contact with her for fear her father would find her. She is devastated when she sees her family home on the news, engulfed in flames. Unable to contact her mother, Harmony panics until a knock on the door reveals her mother.
Tyler, upon learning Jan’s story and her fears that Rod will come looking for her and place Harmony and her granddaughter in jeopardy, opens up her home to Jan. Tyler wants to continue on with her mother’s legacy of helping others but also feels this is the perfect way to pay back Harmony for the friendship she gave Tyler’s mother, Charlotte, before her death.
As Jan and Harmony work on rebuilding their relationship, Tyler opens her heart to another newcomer-Adam Pryor. Soon, their friendship blossoms into a romance, convincing Tyler that she is ready to move forward in her life.
No River Too Wide is the third installment in Emilie Richards’ Goddesses Anonymous series. A series built around a group of women who have created a safe place in the mountains of North Carolina to help women in need. This contemporary follows the lives of three women whose trust have been broken. A wife finds the strength to leave her abusive husband, her daughter guards her heart in order to not be caught in the same trap as her mother, and a single mother betrayed by love finally opens her heart only to find disappointment once again. When the lives of these three women intersect, old wounds are opened and lessons are learned in redemption, forgiveness, and hope.
A compelling story that takes an intimate look at domestic abuse from a survivor’s point of view; Richards’ has three strong voices in here that compete for our attention. The blending isn’t as flawless as I would have liked because of the strength of each of the characters. Each character’s story is just that-their story. Though Richards’ uses these mothers as a bridge to help understand the dynamics of the mother/daughter relationship and the hard choices one will make for the love and protection of a child, I couldn’t help but feel the bridge never truly completes and each woman remains an island unto themselves.
Jan struggles with her first taste of freedom, her fears that her husband could find her at any given time, and trying to rebuild a relationship with her daughter. A majority of the time Jan is in her own world and her interactions with Harmony are limited to short secret visits because she can’t be seen with Harmony. Harmony is angry at her mother for staying with her father all those years and essentially abandoning her while struggling to form keep a friendly relationship with the father of her child who she refused to marry. The interactions between Harmony and Jan are uncomfortable at times. I commend Jan’s strength in leaving her abuser and understand the reasons why it took so long for her to leave. It’s extremely easy to ask, “Why didn’t she leave,” when you are standing on the outside looking it Harmony is personable with a dry sense of humor and a strong sense of self. She understands her anger towards Jan and actively seeks to understand and forgive.
Taylor, also a single mother, allows Jan to live with her in order to help her keep Harmony and her granddaughter safe. Owner of a yoga salon, Taylor shares with us her struggle with having a child as a teenager, her own pain at mother’s abandonment, and her inability to forgive those she feels transgressed against her. Both Harmony and Tyler are alike in their issues. Tyler’s mother pushed her away when Tyler got pregnant in high school and refused to give up the child. Though Tyler and her mother eventually healed their breach, Tyler still harbors resentment of what her mother did and the fact they didn’t have much time together in the end. She also has residual anger towards her child’s father for how he acted when he found out she was pregnant though they too have reached a better place. I can’t say I really liked or disliked Taylor because I never really felt I got to know her. She had a place saver feel to her. I felt she was used more as a stepping stone to help bring in the suspense and mystery that surrounds her love interest-Adam.
The story bobs and weaves, giving us insight into the past and present, while moving forward. Richards doesn’t use emotional manipulation to make you feel sorry for these women. Rather, she digs deep and allows them to come full circle; each finding their own path to peace and serenity. I did feel after I was finished that reading the ones before this may have allowed me a better understanding of Taylor and Harmony.. Regardless, No River Too Wide is a quiet story of triumph and perseverance. The lessons learned show that life is a series of unknowns and that with the acceptance of help from others, you can rise above your circumstances to lead a life that is fulfilling and filled with wonder.
RATING: C+
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