Review of Journey to Sandcastle

Review of Journey to Sand Castle

by Leslee Breene

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Tess Cameron, a divorced teacher, becomes the unwitting guardian of a bi-racial orphan. She is compelled to take the little girl from New Orleans to the Colorado San Luis Valley to meet her grandfather. Estranged from the child's missing mother, the grandfather is unaware of the granddaughter's existence and doesn't want her. Grant Wilder, a widowed outfitter, offers Tess temporary employment  on his ranch. But can Tess's wandering spirit find the faith to accept permanent responsibility of the child and open her heart to love again in this land of amazing beauty and haunting secrets?
MY REVIEW:
I have experienced hurricanes when I lived at Holden Beach, North Carolina, but I have never experienced the utter destruction, devastation, and loss that a hurricane can cause.   I could feel the hunger pains when Tess's stomach growled.   My heart broke when the mother of an infant had no formula to feed her hungry little one.   I could imagine the terror that Tess and Crystal felt when they had to leave New Orleans without Carrie, Crystal's mother. 
I was rooting for Tess and Grant to realize that they did love each other and they adored Crystal.  I wanted them to marry and become a true family.  Tess and Grant both experienced great loss in previous marriages, and they are afraid to open their hearts again.  I can certainly relate to that as well.  Leslee Breene has created an incredible picture of forgiveness, redemption, loss/grief, and love.   Journey to Sand Castle surprised me with its intensity and depth.   It is a beautiful story.
I received a free pdf copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author:


LESLEE BREENE Leslee Breene, award-winning author of novel and short fiction, takes pride in being a Denver native. She lives beneath the Colorado Rockies with her husband and, hopefully soon, beloved rescue canine. STARLIGHT RESCUE, (2011- Treble Heart Books) a western romance, is available in soft cover through www.lesleebreene.com and Amazon.com, and is set beneath the Wyoming Big Horn Mountains on an animal rescue ranch. It received an RWA PASIC Book of Your Heart Award in the contemporary, single-title category. HEARTS ON THE WIND (2008- Five Star), a Denver bestseller, was her third published historical romance. LEADVILLE LADY (2006- Five Star) received the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers PEN Award. The RWA Valley Forge Chapter awarded second place to her debut novel, FOXFIRE . Ms. Breene’s short fiction has been published in various magazines, won national awards, and finaled in the 2009, 2011 and 2012 Women Writing the West LAURA (Ingalls Wilder) competitions. http://womenwritingthewest.org/laurajournal.html. Ms. Breene attended the University of Denver, received a Denver Fashion Group Scholarship, and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City. For several years, she worked as a newspaper fashion illustrator in San Francisco. During leisure time away from the computer, she enjoys scouting for book settings with her husband in the Colorado Rockies. Some memorable research sites are Leadville, the Colorado Sand Dunes, Buffalo and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Western music is her passion. She supports the annual Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Golden, Colorado and the monthly ASL Concert at the Old Town Pickin' Parlor, Arvada, Colorado. She is an active member of RWA, Colorado Romance Writers, and Women Writing the West. She is available for Denver/suburban area library and group speaking engagements. Visitors are welcome at her website: www.lesleebreene.com and www.facebook.com/lesleebreene.