Category Archives: MIRA Books (Harlequin)

The Face By Angela Hunt

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The Face by Angela Hunt

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Mira (November 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778327272
ISBN-13: 978-0778327271

From the back cover:
Product Description
Orphaned and severely deformed, from her earliest moments Sarah Sims has been kept hidden away in a secret CIA facility—until an unexpected discovery gives her an opportunity to make a life for herself at last.
Now Sarah has an ally, a long-lost aunt who has discovered her true identity. Aided by this brave psychologist, twenty-year-old Sarah must find the courage to confront the forces that have confined her for so long. And the strength to be reborn into a world she has never known.

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This book was a bit different than my usual reading. Born without a face, Sarah Sims has lived her life in captivity, on a remote island near Spain. Brilliant, she’s a successful computer hacker working for the CIA. Orphaned, her contact with the outside world has been minimal, and she has no desire to set foot outside of her own little world due to her deformed appearance. However, when her beautiful Aunt Renee, a psychologist, shows up on the island to perform an analysis on her niece, Sarah soon learns that she longs to see the world, outside of her remote island.

Renee has just learned about her niece, believing Sarah was brought into the world as a still-born child. Renee’s arrival on the island causes strife, turmoil, and joy, which makes this an exciting read. You also have interesting secondary characters on the island like Judson, the legless blind man who’s maimed by working for the CIA, Dr. Kollman – a CIA plastic surgeon who’s smitten with Renee, and Dr. Mewton – the CIA employee who has raised Sarah after she was orphaned.

The ending of this book was bittersweet, and something totally unexpected happens near the end.

This book reminded me a little bit about a secular novel I read several years ago. It was called Butterfly by Kathryn Harvey and I just looked on Amazon and it appears it was re-released through iUniverse a few years ago. In Butterfly, the main character, Rachel, was physically ugly. She wasn’t deformed like Sarah, but she was obsessed with the beauty of others and she has plastic surgery to “fix her face.” At least half of the novel deals with the struggles she endures from having a face that most do not consider attractive.

The Face reminds us about how we view physical appearance in society. I think the way that we look can have a huge impact on our lives.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Twenty Wishes By Debbie Macomber

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Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira Books; Reprint edition (April 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778326314
ISBN-13: 978-0778326311

From the back cover:
What Anne Marie Roche wants is to find happiness again. At thirty-eight, she’s childless, a recent widow, “alone.” She owns a successful bookstore on Seattle’s Blossom Street, but despite her accomplishments, there’s a feeling of emptiness.
On Valentine’s Day, Anne Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate…”hope.” They each begin a list of twenty wishes, things they always wanted to do but never did.

Anne Marie’s list includes learning to knit, falling in love again, doing good for someone else. When she volunteers at a local school, an eight-year-old girl named Ellen enters her life. It’s a relationship that becomes far more involving–and far more important–than Anne Marie had ever imagined.

As Ellen helps Anne Marie complete her list of twenty wishes, they both learn that wishes “can” come true…but not necessarily in the way you expect.

This was a light, slightly inspiring read. Anne Marie is depressed since her husband has suddenly died…right when they were in the middle of reconciling. When her step-daughter comes to Anne Marie for help, she’s confused – her stepdaughter has always held nothing but distain for her. In the midst of her stepdaughter’s crises, Anne Marie bonds with an eight-year-old child through a school lunch buddy program. Meanwhile, Anne Marie’s friends are going through their own difficult times, struggling with troublesome romantic relationships. I also found it interesting that one of Anne Marie’s friends, Barbie, has a love interest who is in a wheelchair. This story was heartwarming and emotional. If you like inspirational romances, then you’ll probably enjoy this book.

I did not purchase this novel. I received it at the annual Romance Writers of America conference last July. The author, Debbie Macomber, attended this event and even signed the book for me! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~