Lake Union Publishing: 8/14/18
eBook review copy; 270 pages
ISBN-13: 9781503904453
A Curve in the Road by Julianne MacLean is a so-so romantic drama.
Abbie MacIntyre thought she had the perfect family. She is a successful surgeon who is married to a handsome cardiologist. Zach is a model teenage son and the family has a beloved golden retriever named Winston. Then she is in a car accident that changes her whole world. One unthinkable challenge after another is thrown at her and she has to try and find a way to cope and work through her challenges, anger, and grief while still being the parent Zach needs.
The writing is certainly good. MacLean follows the five stages of grief. She handles Abbie's inner turmoil and questions with compassion and realism. It is an uplifting, maudlin, sentimental novel, and, if you require a happy ending, it is here. Abbie is a well-developed character.
Any novel where the description involves a perfect family is bound to be the precursor to proving it just isn't so. Admittedly, I'm still a bit surprised at all the high ratings for A Curve in the Road. While it is not an awful novel, it is very predictable and formulaic. I knew what was going to happen almost right from the start and the unimaginable secrets were painfully obvious, which, in turn, made me feel impatient to get to a surprise or startling secret or... anything I hadn't already guessed was going to happen at almost the beginning of the novel.
I did find several actions less-than-believable. One such question was when she learned some medical information about her husband that she could have confirmed rather than simply believing. It is most definitely women's fiction, but it heads a bit too much toward a romance novel for me, which I did not expect or I would not have chosen to review this novel.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Lake Union Publishing.
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