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He Belongs To Me (2013)

by Theresa Rizzo(Favorite Author)

4.18 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0989045013 (ISBN13: 9780989045018)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Theresa Rizzo

review 1: He Belongs to Me is a beautiful and moving novel about a mother's love and determination. This novel by Theresa Rizzo is moving and definitely makes me eager to find and read more of her work. I thought that she captured the crisis of losing a child very well as well as the heartache of struggling to retain the child that's left. Catherine begins the tale at her graduation ceremony. She is filled with pride after completing her degree and joy that now Drew can come and live with her. Drew is her young son who has been living with her parents while she finished school at Stanford. Drew spends some time with his mother and her roommate in California but when she goes to talk to her parents about him living with her full time is when she learns the horrible truth. In a moment... more of weakness and manipulation from her father what she thought was guardianship for a short time was really signing the rights of her son over to her parents. Horrified and betrayed Catherine feels like she has no one to turn to in this hour of need. With the support of her friends in California she reaches out to her estranged husband, Thomas. They had once been madly in love until one of their twins dies in his sleep and Catherine's family accuses him of murder. Torn asunder by the horror of the situation and Catherine's manipulative father, they haven't spoken in years. Until Catherine shows up on his doorstop with a strange proposal. Can they act like man and wife in an attempt to get Drew and then if Thomas wants he can walk away.This story's over arcing story is beautiful, the two love each other so much and life just keeps forcing them apart. In the end they realize that their love can triumph over any darkness. It is so moving and beautiful how they find love again after years as they struggle with love and children and the court case. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to everyone who enjoys a touching love story!
review 2: Honestly, I had no idea what to expect of this book. I always have a little trepedation when reading a book by a debut author. As anyone who follows my reviews, you know I'm pretty darn picky. Anyone who knows me, knows I love good issues, building and trusting relationships, and definitely forgiveness of all kinds. However, writing that kind of book is VERY difficult and I often find myself disappointed. Not so in this case.In HE BELONGS TO ME I found issues, relationships, tragedy and triumph in spades, and none of it was won easily--none of it was tied up in a neat little bow. I was sucked in during the first chapter watching the setup play out between Catherine, her son Drew, and her parents. I was crying by the time the chapter was over. Then the involvement of her estranged husband, Thomas, and watching the ups and downs of that relationship kept me turning the pages and hoping against hope that these two young people would find a way to survive their past and move forward.Adept strokes with characterization, description, a little humor at just the right times all conspired to make me fall in love with this book. By a third of the way through, nothing could stop me from continuing to read. This is not a light-hearted book, but it is a book with amazing heart. Ms. Rizzo slowly tears away the skin of masks, self-deception, and guilt as she takes the reader layer by layer into the families of Catherine, Thomas, and their own tragic beginning with marriage at a very young age. It is indeed a tearing of skin as each person faces up to his or her past and has to try again and again to find a way to move forward in spite of it.This book is not a romance in the traditional sense, but the romance between Catherine and Thomas is one for the ages. Not an easy romance, but one that is so hard fought and so realistic that you truly believe they will make it for the rest of their lives. Even the dysfunctional romance of Catherine's parents is one to carefully evaluate and understand. Though I hated so many of the parents' choices, I still found myself rooting for them to recover from their own mistakes, to forgive themselves so they could move forward.Much of the latter part of this book revolves around Catherine's court case to regain custody of her son. It is through that venue that the author chooses to reveal all of the family relationships and their myriads of interconnections, pain and tragedy--but also to provide healing. Just as in therapy one needs a third party to help see the truth, sometimes in dysfunctional families it is the court that provides that third party and allows the truth to come out. Unfortunately, learning the truth in court is one of the most difficult ways for a family to recover--many never do.I heartily recommend HE BELONGS TO ME anyone who has the heart to cheer for three families, in all their brokenness and tragedy, to survive their pasts and somehow find a future together. As a psychological character study and a romance that becomes stronger, because of survival and forgiveness, this book is a triumph. A Very Strong 5 Stars!!! less

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