Book Review: Through Paige's Eyes by Melanie Macek
About the Author: Melanie Macek is a transplanted Californian desert rat living in Texas. She and her husband are owned by two Bombay cats - Murphy (Smurph) and Charlie (Midget). Luckily her husband shares her love of travel and they are slowly checking off destinations. Many vacations have turned into story ideas. Vacation ideas are welcome! After trying her hand at poetry, song writing, and short stories, she started writing her first novel after the death of her mother. The urge to commit words to paper became undeniable, though life and work frequently put it on the back burner. It took 14 years to complete that first novel and another 4 to edit and fine tune it enough to release. Melanie currently writes contemporary romance and historical romances. Her love of history does show up somewhat in her contemporary novels, so keep an eye out for tiny tidbits of trivia. You can contact Melanie at mel_macek@yahoo.com or read her blog at www.featherpenstartandreams.wordpress.com.
Through Paige's Eyes
People say they admire a strong woman...until one has the confidence to defend her high standard of self-worth. Growing up with a beautiful mother isn't always easy. Especially when you look just like her and she happens to be the woman most men crave...and have tasted. Paige Nelson is sexually conservative, thanks in part to having a hyper-sexual mother. Her mother flaunts her figure while Paige does everything to hide hers. She would love to experience a satisfying, physical relationship just once in her life. As of high school graduation, she has yet to find someone who hasn't slept with her mother and would date her just for the opportunity to compare the two. Paige moves three thousand miles away in order to get a fresh start. Not only does Paige discover a passion for history, she finds someone who loves her for herself and does everything to show her that she is worthy of respect. Thanks to his love, she finds her confidence and realizes that enjoying sex does not make her a slut, nor does denying someone sex make her a cold-hearted bitch.
Rated 4 out of 5
From the beginning I was intrigued to see where the story would go. I enjoyed learning about Paige and hated what she had to go through, growing up with a mom who slept with most of the town. Seeing her escape her family's clutches allowed her to become her own woman and it showed in the writing of the story. Ms. Macek truly captured the inner turmoil Paige felt every time she was near a man, let alone being anywhere near her mother. As the story continued, you could see the beginning of a possible romance. Once they realized their mutual infatuation for each other, I felt like their relationship sped up and went by too fast. The part I loved most about the story was seeing the conflict between Paige and her mother. My only critique was that there wasn't enough of it, especially in the second half of the book.