3 Star
Christine Grogan is a beautiful 28-year-old meteorologist with a loving family, great friends and an exciting career working for an international investment bank. So why does she spend every January 20th crying like her heart might break? As everyone around her appears to be moving on with their lives, Christine wears her past like a pair of concrete shoes. Can nothing, or nobody help her shake them?
Mark Harrington thought he had all he ever wanted. Head of the bank's Irish operations, he has the career, the house and the relationship any 39-year-old would wish for. But when his seemingly perfectly-planned life suddenly strays totally off course, Mark is confronted with the fact that he isn't actually in control at all…
…and that he is crazy in love with Christine.
Kaley - 3 Star
I knew going in that Alberta Clipper was going to be a bit of an emotional book – the synopsis tipped me off to a big secret that obviously causes Christine some major heartache – but I don’t think I was anticipating Sheena Lambert’s novel to be all heavy, all the time.
Christine had some serious issues. At the start of the novel, we have no idea what her past has really involved or why January 20th is such an awful day for her. The book seemed to revolve around drawing Christine out and peeling away layers until we finally understood what her problem is. I think this is what I struggled with when reading this novel. Christine is…well…she’s really emotionally messed up. Once you find out what happened to her you can kind of understand why she acts the way she does but at the same time, I couldn’t understand why she hadn’t yet let go after so many years. Granted, I’ve never ever been in a situation anything close to what she went through so I shouldn’t judge too harshly, but I just couldn’t help but wonder why she couldn’t snap out of it. And that’s not a good thing to be thinking about a main character.
There also seemed to be some unnecessary parts to the book that didn’t add a whole lot for me. The insider trading scandal didn’t have much of a purpose other than to put Mark and Christine in another city at the same time. Also, Mark’s new and very attractive assistant, featured a little too prominently for not much reward. The final drama also had me scratching my head. Mark was able to swoop in and be a knight in shining armor but I think there could have been a less dramatic and involved way to have that happen.
All that being said, the romance element to the story was really enjoyable. I liked that I got to see Mark’s revelation that he has strong feelings for Christine. It was also interesting to watch Christine open up to someone, be crushed (only a minor spoiler – you’d figure it out anyway!), and then start to wonder about Mark.
Overall, Alberta Clipper was enjoyable but I just wasn’t as drawn into Christine’s world as I wanted to be. I do think that others would like Sheena Lambert’s novel much more than I did.
Thank you to Sheena Lambert for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
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