57585

Caveat: I am not the intended audience for this book. I'm not Christian, and I don't read Christian fiction. I must not have read the fine print on the Early Reviewers description.

Further caveat: I read this quite a while ago, so it's not as fresh as it maybe should be, but at least my annoyance at it has worn off a bit.

Journalist Bryn lost her mother when she was a child, and has been trying to compensate ever since with dangerous encounters, in love and life. An unrepentant, nihilistic non-believer, she is drawn in by a strange old man who knew her mother and his strange world.

Poorly written, poorly edited, wanted to chuck it into a corner multiple times. A truly aggravating experience. Life is too short for books like this. ( )

I found this book painfully slow and dull. I was unable to finish it. ( )

As I began reading "Once in a Blue Moon", by Leanna Ellis, I soon realized that I was in for a rare treat. I have my favorite genres and types of characters, and those are my comfort reads. However, I love it when an author can take me some place new, make it a journey to remember, and introduce me to new friends to whom I don't want to say goodbye. That's exactly what Leanna Ellis did with "Once in a Blue Moon". Bryn Seymour is a journalist with a college-aged daughter, a divalistic cat, and real difficulty with close personal relationships. At age nine, Bryn suffered the tragic loss of her mother under mysterious circumstances. Bryn secretly carries guilt over her mother's death, and it is a guilt which colors every aspect of her life. Raised by her grandmother after her mother's death, Bryn has a challenging relationship with her own daughter. When Bryn's beloved grandmother Cora shows the beginning signs of Alzheimer's Disease, Bryn is forced to place her in a care facility. On a reporting assignment to cover the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Bryn meets an eccentric older man, Howard Walters, who claims to have known her mother. Unable to resist learning more about her mother's life, Bryn becomes involved with Howard's seemingly paranoid conspiracy theories. Her life takes quite another turn when she meets Howard's son Sam, who is trying to come to terms with his "anything but average" father. Bryn and Sam share an immediate attraction, but it is a wonderfully written, subtle, slow-build attraction that still packs a wallop. While Bryn and Sam are still "works in progress", all of their emotional and physical aspects are in working order. How delightful that two people over forty are never categorized as middle-aged and are given a shot at a lovely, fulfilling romance. There is an underlying theme of faith and acceptance, which is just right for the story line. Sometimes, a leap of faith lands you in just the right place. ( )

I was born on the day they landed on the moon so this book really appealed.
The idea was great and the characters real.
For me it needed to move a bit more quickly and I struggled to maintain my interest, a shame some pace would have made it excellent. ( )