Adam Collins has come home to Walkers Ford, South Dakota,
after
12 years away in the Marines. He's not the same boy who left
the town at barely 18; and he's not sure how he fits back in
his old life. He left his first love Marissa; because he
knew he couldn't stay, and had nothing to offer her. During
one of his rare visits home, he enters a relationship with
town rich girl Delaney Walker, which he later suddenly and
inexplicably breaks off. For better or for worse, however,
Adam is back at the only real home he's ever known, and he
is about to serve as best man in Delaney's wedding to his
best friend Keith; an event which puts him in an awkward
position, for more than one reason.
Marissa Brooks is a town girl, never travelled anywhere, but
she doesn't really belong in Walkers Ford either. She is
determined to restore 'Brookhaven', the mansion and property
that has been owned by her family for generations; but which
fell into serious disrepair after her family's fortunes
plummeted. After Adam left for the Marines, she married a
local bad boy; who taught her about construction and home
repair before dying in a car crash. Now, she simply exists.
She spends her days working either as a handyman around
town, or restoring Brookhaven; while harboring a secret
obsession with sailing and dreams of personal freedom.
When Adam and Marissa meet again, their chemistry is
combustible. Marissa doesn't want to get involved with Adam
again after all these years. She doesn't feel that Adam
really belongs in Walkers Ford anymore, and will leave
again; but Adam is persistent. He's pulling her out of her
staid existence, and out of her comfort zone; even taking
her on a whirlwind sailing trip to Chicago. While at home,
he spends his time helping her with her work. Adam has never
had time for relationships while in the Marines, but he
knows what he wants now; he wants Marissa.
This is very much the character driven story, a
story-telling device which Anne Calhoun excels in. This is
also an author who really knows how to write
characterizations and relationships about fragile, broken
souls with demons to exorcise. There are no extraneous
scenes or subplots in the story; everything firmly revolves
around Adam and Marissa, and 'the dance' of their burgeoning
relationship. The reader is shown and feels what they are
feeling are feeling at all times. The love scenes are
intense and emotional; as well as leisurely, tender, and
sensual.
UNFORGIVEN is an excellent relationship study as well as a
love story, quiet but intense. Everything just flows along,
sucking the reader in, and carrying them along for the ride.
It all feels so real to the reader. The last quarter of the
novel is exhilarating and evocative. UNFORGIVEN is a real
relationship story about real people, and leaves readers
with a sigh of happiness at the end.
For as long as he could remember, he wanted her...
Raised by a single mother, Adam Collins resolved to
take no chances with a girl's future—or his own.
That's why, as hard as it was, he resisted everything he
felt for Marissa Brooks. Then one night a reckless
challenge left a fellow student dead and changed both their
lives forever. As penance, Adam took the boy's place in the
Marines, where he could disappear into discipline and duty,
and left Marissa behind to struggle with her dreams.
Twelve years later, Adam is back in Walkers Ford to
serve as the best man in his friend's wedding. The years
haven't diminished the electric connection he has with
Marissa. But Adam's mistake continues to haunt him, and
Marissa is stumbling under the weight of her family's
legacy. Together they wrestle with demons and dreams, but
if there's any hope for a future together Adam has to not
only find a way to forgive himself, but also ask others for
forgiveness—especially from the woman whose heart he
broke.
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