Past Due by Elizabeth Seckman (Coulter Brothers #1)-a review
Description: Release June 2012
Jenna Austin is a young, widowed artist raising a teenage son on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the costs of living in paradise rise, she struggles to make ends meet. Life isn’t easy, but she manages.
When her car breaks down, she trudges on. She assumes life can’t get any more complicated than it is. But it can…
Chance brings her nose to well-formed chest with Tres Coulter, the handsome, affluent aid to Governor Hunt. Jenna and Tres share a history; they also share a love they thought long lost. Their lives are about to be altered forever as the deceptions of the past transform the very foundation of the present.
The price of happily ever after may be too steep to pay once the past comes due…
Review:
Jenna Austin is one tough cookie, but she’s tired. She works tirelessly to try and make a good life for herself and for her son, Tanner. Without moral support from Maureen, Jenna’s deceased husband’s mother, she wouldn’t have made it this far. To say that Jenna has had it tough all of her life would be a gross understatement. She is estranged from her father, with whom she lived with after her mother died. And, boy, what a back story there is with that bunch!! And, things just seem to get more complicated when Tres Coulter comes to town.
Once Tres runs into Jenna, he knows that he’s in trouble. Even though it’s been years since he last saw her, he knows that he still loves her more than anything. But, in typical Jenna fashion, she pushes him away. Seems she’s been keeping a secret for 15 years that has the possibility of hurting everyone she loves and tearing apart what family she has left. And, once that secret is revealed, an avalanche of things happen that throws everyone and everything into chaos. Will the secret truly cost Jenna everything and everyone she’s ever loved? Or, will true love conquer all? You’ll have to read to find out.
I really enjoyed the world that Seckman created in Past Due. The real life struggles of a single mom trying to raise her child really hit home with me. It is set on the outer islands of North Carolina, a place where I have been many times myself. I could hear the gulls calling each other and feel the wind……. The one downside, at least for me, is that when the secret is revealed, it leads to more secrets and disclosures from numerous people and the details got bogged down just a little bit for me. The upside to that is that we get to meet some great folks along the way and I can’t wait to read more about Tres’ family, namely his two brothers, Craig and Trip. And, the boys’ mom, Barbara Coulter? Let’s just say she adds a whole new dimension to round out the Coulter clan. This is, in a nutshell, a story about life, love, family, hope and forgiveness. I have a feeling that the family dynamics in future books will be well worth the read!!
ORDER LINKS: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository
Copy supplied by the author.
Reviewed by Vickie M.
Wonderful review, Vickie. This is a new author for me, and the story sounds great, especially after reading your review.
Thanks Barb!
Double thanks! 🙂
Great review Vickie. My TBR pile keeps growing. One day I may get the chance to catch up!
Thanks Alicia!! Glad you’re adding them to the list!!
Alicia, mine is going to need a building permit if it gets any taller!!
Wow…so much feeling. Another series to add to my list.
Thanks Sandy!!
Thanks from me too Sandy!
another good review Vickie. Sounds like a good read read.
Thanks Marcie!! They were very good!!
I like to think it is Marci 😉
I love Barbara already. How old is the son? Did the wrong father get picked? lol
I wish she’d get a book!!! LOL!!
The son was 15 in Past Due. In college in Fate Intended. Currently, I am working on a story for the son. I just can’t walk away from the Coulter family!
Great review. I am looking at Amazon as I type.
Thanks Alexiis!! I hope you love it as much as I did!!
Love the sounds of that Alexis!