The Last Good Man

Rating:
Summary: Predictable But Good
Review: This was your average predictable love story but it was good. The writer has obviously done her homework on horse care and management. I would be interested in reading a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book With An Important Point!
Review: To read "The Last Good Man" cold is to read a tremendous love story - to read it understanding its point is an education in emotions. I was privileged to read the advance reading copy for this book and was impressed with its originality, flow, and, of course, Kathleen's never fail ability to draw her reader into the midst of her characters. She paints a vivid story of broken hearts, lost loves, and letting regret rule ones life. At the same time "The Last Good Man" reveals that we live in a society driven by ambition and looks - what happens when both of those are taken away by a near fatal disease? How do we recoup the loss of our self esteem, not to mention an extremely personal body part? The heroine and hero struggle with these questions and find that love really CAN overcome psychological obstacles, as well as physical ones. Kathleen's books are unique in the fact that as romance novels they stray from the social norms, sneaking over into mainstream fiction in such a way that they are thought provoking as well as romantically intriguing. To give a general topic overview of "The Last Good Man" would be doing it a great diservice. The reader needs to delve into it themselves and find out just what a special - not to mention important - book it is. For any woman who loves well written romance and an intriguing storyline, who's had a mammogram or has had a brush with cancer, lived with its results, or lost a loved one to it, this book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Something to say.....
Review: Well, let me start by saying that I have always loved Kathleen Eagle's books. She has a way of bringing to life characters that touch the hearts of her readers. Her books go beyond the traditional romance by exposing the lives of characters who have been wounded in some way, either physical or mental, by lifes hardships. I was looking forward to reading THE LAST GOOD MAN from the moment she put the synopsis on her webpage. But, this book didn't get to me the way her other books have. After reading the book I found I had no sympathy for the main character, Savannah Stephens (Keogh). For the majority of the book she is absolutely pathetic. She has survived breast cancer, and yes, she has lost one of her breasts, but she has a very good reason to live, a very good reason to force herself out of bed every morning and face life -- her little girl. Please don't think me unsympathetic to the plight of breast-cancer survivors. I know several women who have survived breast cancer, and they are the strongest people I know. Unfortunately I found no strength in Savannah's character until the very end of the book. The mental anguish Savannah seems to be experienceing isn't exposed through thoughts, only through actions, actions that seemed selfish and shallow, and which left this reader unsypathetic to the plight of the character. Savannah can't seem to express her anguish to her best-friend/husband, and she is barely able to go into them with the support group she finally goes to. Neither does she seem to learn from the people around her who have suffered other tragedies. All in all the real issues were skirted around until the very end of the book. On the upside, I did like Clay Keogh and the other supporting characters a lot. I do admire the thought behind the book. I am, however, looking forward to Ms. Eagle's next book in hopes that it will succeed for me were this one failed.