Long Time Coming    by Edie Claire Order:  USA  Can Warner, 2003 (2003) Paperback Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Kim Atchue-Cusella Eighteen years ago, Joy Hudson left her hometown of Wharton, Kentucky after a tragic accident claimed the life of her best friend Jenny. Joy studied to become a vet, and returns now to help her mom with her father who just had a second heart attack. The doctors have given him at best three years to live, and Joy needed to come home and repair her relationship with her parents. Joy rents a house, which turns out to be Jenny's old home. Though the rooms are all empty, they are full of memories. Joy swears she can hear a song that the pair loved as teenagers. She has recurring nightmares that Jenny hated her before she died. But Joy has no memories of the accident details or the funeral. She seems to have blocked them from her mind. Early one morning, Joy's mother calls to say that her father is getting worse and she's needed right away. On the way Joy's car hits a dog, whose owner turns out to be Jeff Bradford, Jenny's boyfriend and the one who was driving the car the night Jenny died. Jeff is also the doctor treating Joy's father. Joy struggles with her feelings for Jeff as memories resurface from before the accident. This is an engrossing story that brings Joy full circle in her life. She has to deal with mixed feelings of love and hate for Jeff, and also her feelings of guilt for Jenny's death. I couldn't help but wonder if Jenny's ghost was pushing Jeff and Joy together. I enjoyed Long Time Coming and recommend it as a book you can't put down. Edie Claire's Meant To Be is coming out in spring 2004, and I'll be waiting for it with bated breath. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews