Thin Line Between Love and the Past

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	• A Journey To Here Margaret Johnson-Hodge Kensington, 2005 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Thin Line Between Love and the Past

Once again, Margaret Johnson-Hodge has taken readers beyond the pages of another heartwarming tale. The journey leads readers into the hearts of her characters who face real issues of betrayal, unrequited love, trust, mental health, and forgiveness.

When a blast from the past - aka Philip Butler - visits Suvie, her world is never again the same. She has managed to keep her past at bay during her 19-years of marriage to Emory Allen. An opened door to welcome an old friend also opens the door to an in-home invasion. The Allen family is robbed of their peace, trust, happiness as well as hidden truths which inevitably lead the family on a journey toward personal healing.

Just when I thought my heart could stand no more after reading A NEW DAY, Margaret opened my eyes and heart wider. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to readers daring enough to embark upon an unexpected journey.

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OK Story...Would Recommend

This was a good story, but I did not like the ending--that the bad guys got to stay together, and that their story ended well too. And Monroe (the author) uses way too much poetic and flowery language for my taste. She seemed to try to create drama with the language. It did not work. I do not like her style of writing, although I liked the story. It did start slow, but most of the long story was good. I change my rating to 3 stars.

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So Real It Hurt

I've never read one of MJH's books before but when I read the back, I knew this was a book I would enjoy. I identified with Suvie in so many ways because my first love broke my heart, choosing to marry the young lady with whom he cheated on me. We never got to have that final conversation and a couple of months ago (11 yrs after we last saw each other) he reached out via a relative and sent a message to me. I had read "Journey" before this happened and wished for the opportunity to close that chapter once and for all. I just re-read "Journey" with a deeper appreciation. The difference between Suvie and I (and my biggest beef with her) is that I laid the past before my husband's feet in the very beginning of our relationship so there are no secrets and while he understands that my meeting with my ex is necessary for closure, he also understands that it's in no way a reflection of my love or adoration for him and our life together. Suvie disappointed me because her secrecry rather than infedility nearly destroyed her marriage. I also wondered what kind of dialogue she and Emory had in the beginning of their relationship that Philip and Dorothy never entered the conversation - it became clear that their relationship prior to this storm despite the 20 + years and two children was truly only on the surface - for her husband to be oblivious to such a deep hurt and betrayal was astounding. I LOVED the setting of the book having attended college and law school at St John's University. Queens holds an extra special place in my heart - I could visualize their neighborhood, Jamaica High School, Suvie driving on the Grand Central Parkway, etc. and it reminded me of some of the best (and saddest) times in my life.
All in all, this was a beautifully written book, I didn't love the ending but I understood it and recognized that anything different would not have been realistic for these characters. I understood exactly what Suvie meant when she said even though she was a grown woman and mother, at that moment she was 15 all over again, devastated by the betrayal that felt as fresh as yesterday - it was amazing to see those emotions put into such beautiful words. I am an avid reader - I love books but there are only two books that I can think of that have truly touched my soul - the first is Mama Day by Gloria Naylor and now A Journey to Here. For someone who has read hundreds if not well over a thousand books in her adult life, that is truly saying something.

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I LOVE THIS BOOK!

This is a MUST READ for everyone. MJH takes you on a seamless journey of the heartbreak of betrayal of a first love and a "best friend" to how feelings left with no closure can come back and sting as if it were the initial wound. Lizan Mitchell knocked the narration out of the box, bringing younger Suvie to life with gripping emotions of a devastated heart, and the evil-plotting Dorothy.

I listen to this book often on recorded books and still connect with the characters as if it were the first time.

Beautifully written!

Alya

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DISAPPOINTED

This was a very,very sad story. But for som reason, I couldn't put the book down.

I was very disappointed in how this book ended. I really thought at some point Dorothy would've paid a heavy price for what she'd done to Sylvia and Phillip. Instead things turned out for her just as she'd planed: The man of her dream(although he doesn't feel the same way about her),and a big beautiful home, while phillip long to be with his true love and Sylvia setttles for a man she doesn't really love.

I really hope that the author is working on a sequel to this book.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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