Lone Star
-
-
4.7 • 7 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the author of TULLY and THE BRONZE HORSEMAN comes an epic new romantic saga -- heart-wrenching and passionate, this compelling story of love lost and found will stay with you forever...
Falling in love was the easy part...
Chloe is weeks away from college when she embarks on a grand European adventure with her boyfriend and two best friends. Their destination is Barcelona, with its promise of romance and mystery, but first they must detour through the historic cities of Eastern Europe to settle an old family debt.
As they traverse the unfamiliar landscape of the post-Communist world, Chloe meets a boy on a train who is going off to war. Johnny carries a guitar, an easy smile -- and a lifetime of secrets.
As the trip becomes a treacherous journey into Europe's and Johnny's darkest past, it threatens to shatter the bonds holding together four lifelong friends.
From Riga to Treblinka to Trieste, Chloe must face the collision of her deepest desires with the future she thought she wanted.
Praise for Paullina Simons:
'Prepare to have your emotions wrung so completely you'll be sobbing your heart out one minute and laughing through your tears the next' Company
'She's done it again. Just like in THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, I turned the last page, fell down and cried Helena, Goodreads
'This heart wrenching love story will have you sobbing as you follow a group of friends on a life affirming journey' Sophie Whitfield, CultureStreet.com
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Veteran author Simons stumbles in this coming-of-age romance about four Maine teenagers and the European adventure that changes their lives. Chloe Divine has spent half her life dreaming of going to Barcelona with her best friend, Hannah. They finally make the attempt their summer before college, with boyfriends in tow, and tack on a detour to Eastern Europe. The story suffers from characters rife with all the irritating immaturity of their youth while burdened with an implausible middle-aged introspection. It collapses under the weight of overwrought prose: "Reading about Barcelona burst her heart into a flame." The foursome are insufferable by the time they reach Latvia, a quality that is exacerbated when Johnny Rainbow waltzes into their lives with a guitar on his back and a foreshadowing tremor in his hands. Fortunately, Johnny rescues the story, letting the focus expand to the history and beauty of their setting, where Simons's strength as a storyteller comes into play. Chloe's growing passion for Johnny and dread in the face of a clearly doomed romance turns a clunky, irritating slog into an engrossing epic with a too-tidy ending.
Customer Reviews
Another Masterpiece
A captivating story that had me hooked from beginning to end.