This web site is owned and maintained by Treble Heart Books.
Marie Roy Synopses
and Reviews
Lia Martin's father, Eliah Stewart, summons her to Split Maple Ridge, Vermont a place where years later still evokes memories of a dark love and an even darker betrayal. Knowing how his daughter feels about this place, Lia feels he would not have asked her to return unless for a good reason.
The name Eliah Stewart still grates hard against Sean McIntyre's soul, reminding him of the painful humiliation he had once experienced on that unforgettable night. Years later he would tell others he felt safer fighting in Vietnam than in those Vermont backwoods.
When unforeseen circumstances throw Lia, Sean and Eliah together under one roof, despite the reopening of painful past emotional wounds, a love still exists between Lia and Sean. The question is if love can survive once all truths of what really took place on that stormy summer night are exposed.
Lia Stewart and Sean McIntyre were all set to elope one supposedly magical midsummer's evening. Lia waited for Sean to show up...little did she know that her dad, Eliah, discovered their plans and wounded Sean with his shotgun! Lia never knew that Eliah chased Sean off and Sean thought that Lia sent her dad to chase him away. While Lia pondered why Sean didn't appear, her heart broke, but she eventually was able to go on with her life. Meanwhile, Sean joined the military during the Vietnam War. He survived, came home, and made a business for himself. Tempers flare one hot summer over 30 years later when Eliah and Sean are pitted against each other once again...this time over land development.
Lia comes to her father's rescue, but is forced to face the man who left her waiting in the pouring rain, many years before. How can she fight her feelings for Sean, and at the same time come up with a compromise between him and her father when the two can't stand each other? Will Lia and Sean be able to overcome their hurt feelings toward one another and begin to fall in love all over again? Or, will Eliah's machinations destroy their love once again?
Roy develops her characters so well that the reader wants to hate Eliah for his duplicity, but can't help feeling sorry for him instead. Eliah is so bitter, but helpless. He ends up seriously hurt during one of his "stop Sean escapades" and Lia and Sean must overcome their anger to solve the land development dilemma. But, will a trunk full of secrets bring them the resolution both of them want, but fight against? Or, can one never truly go back to the past?
Sean is also well-developed. His boyish charms allows the reader to fall in love with him as Lia did those many years previous. The reader completely understands why Lia was so devastated when he left to find his "Soldier's Fortune." As Lia's and Sean's summer romance unfolds, and we learn the story of their love in 1960's, the reader can't help but feel the breathless anticipation of young love. One is brought back with Lia and Sean to their first love and the memories weave their spell as Roy weaves hers.
The most poignant part of the novel is when Sean and Lia see each other for the first time again after so many years. Despite dirt, sweat, and wrinkles, each see in each other the people they once were. The people both wish to be again.
Roy's talent lies not only in the development of her main storyline, but in the realistic tales of those who come into contact with Sean and Lia. These other characters bounce off Lia and Sean to make the novel completely realistic. One can't help but walk alongside the main characters and wonder what will happen next.
A poignant story of rekindled love and trust, A SOLDIER'S FORTUNE is the tale of two people who never thought to see each other again, but who were never meant to be apart. Although I'm too young to know the trauma caused by the Vietnam War and how it affected the men who were there, Ms. Roy does a wonderful job of portraying Sean's feelings without being overly dramatic. Lia is an intriguing mix of the young woman she used to be and the mature woman she has become. This is a very intense story, but the character of Eliah adds touches of humor that lighten scenes throughout the book.
For a tale that is sure to tug at your heart, don't miss A SOLDIER'S FORTUNE by Marie A. Roy.
---Courtney Bowden
Romance Reviews Today
Click above to e-mail Marie to enter her contest.
"A wonderful romance that spans decades, Ms. Roy has broken the mold of the same old same old in romantic fiction to bring us a down-to-earth hero and heroine.
Thirty years ago Sean McIntyre broke Lia Stewart's heart when he didn't show up for their scheduled elopement. She'd left the meeting place hurt and dejected, believing Sean had let her down in love. She left Split Maple Ridge with no intentions of returning.
Sean had dropped out of Harvard Law and enlisted in the service and became a Medevac helicopter pilot during the Vietnam Conflict. Now he owns McIntyre Construction where he hires Vietnam Vets to work for him. A job lands him in Split Maple Ridge, Vermont to develop some land for a condo building project. Lia's father, Eliah Stewart, plans on stopping the development even if it means shooting at the workers from a tree. He believes Native American artifacts will be destroyed if the project continues.
Lia rushes to Vermont to mount a archeological rescue dig to pacify her cantankerous old father and keep him out of jail. She hadn't planned on staying long, but Eliah breaks a leg and Sean offers them a place to stay until he's recovered.
Lia and Sean are still drawn to each other. Thirty years couldn't erase those old feeling, but both carry secrets about the night of their foiled elopement that needs to be out in the open before they can start anew.
Can love survive over time and distance, secrets and lies? A Soldier's Fortune makes you believe love really can conquer all."
A Soldier's Fortune is an easy read with enjoyable characters especially old Eliah Stewart. Ms. Roy has woven into her story a tiny glimpse of the horror Vietnam veterans not only lived through, but continue to live with every day. And through it all, she gives us the tale of a love so strong, even the injustices of life cannot destroy it.
---Romance at its Best
This is a bitter sweet tale that reminds me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series in some ways, instead of Grandma Mazur there is Eliah Stewart. The humor in the story helped to balance the seriousness that penetrated whenever the Vietnam aspect was brought to the fore. Marie A. Roy has written a story showing how love can come at any age. I see future romance novels with older hero heroines and I must say if they are all as good as A Soldier's Fortune they'll be enjoyed by readers of every age.
---Kimberly Lightfoot
The Word on Romance
Ms. Roy has penned a touching, and necessary tale of veterans and their
loved ones. Her ability to interweave emotions and viewpoints of many
different characters, both in age and gender, creates a sense of comfortable
familiarity with the people populating her story that keeps the reader
hooked. Told with compassion and understanding, Ms. Roy manages to convey
the horrors of war and the expectations of those who were left behind,
exploring both sides of the issue without preaching. On the contrary, A
Soldier's Fortune is not only a great reading experience; it was a very
educating one as well.
---Reviewed by Denise M. Clark for The Road to Romance
"Superb depth of character, heart-felt emotions, and a unique plot make
Marie A. Roy's A SOLDIER'S FORTUNE a wonderful reading experience. Few
authors know how to make a story come to life the way Marie A. Roy does."
Denise A. Agnew, best selling author of Dangerous Intentions
Denise A. Agnew
A woman with secret powers and wishes...
A man haunted by nightmares and desires...
A slayer without remorse...
MIDNIGHT ROSE
Available From Treble Heart Books www.trebleheartbooks.com
.gif){kind=small}
