Gentle Journey

Elaine Lyons Bach
Outskirts Press (2007)
ISBN 9781598008869
Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (1/07)

Author Elaine Lyons Bach has truly found a way to touch your heart with a romantic story, while still appealing to those who desire a hearty helping of plot added to their romance.

As Eden Barrett finds a way to usually go against everything her mother has hoped for, she finds herself with dreams that she's simply not supposed to have. She doesn't come from money, but is bred well. Her father, a now deceased pastor, had created a sense of caring for others so deeply within her that she knew she wasn't going to follow her mother's dreams of marriage, kids and happily ever. These weren't her dreams. She wanted more in life and was determined to find it.

Taking a position with a wealthy Earl, she hoped that this was one way to move a step closer towards her own dreams of making a difference in the world. She doesn't expect to become so involved with the young lady she is hired to school and befriend, but when she does she finds a level of comfort she's never found before. She instantly, from the first day of her employment with this wealthy but somewhat dysfunctional family, finds that she can make a difference in the world from where she's at. Her job is perfect, the life she's handed as a well-cared-for governess for young Diana is something she hadn't even dare dreamt of before. She has hired help at her disposal, dresses sewn for her to be well presented at various occasions and outings, along with a schoolroom that is equipped well enough to teach an entire school of children let alone one young girl. Add to this an intellectual and somewhat single, handsome man named Colin as her employer and you can imagine the troubles she has in keeping herself earthbound.

Fighting all those around them, her wealthy employer finally admits his desire for her, but everyone else has other plans for him and they don't include a lowly governess. She is torn as to what to do but somehow knows that he is the answer to the world she's been looking for. He thinks like her in so many ways, yet is so different. She’s a woman of strong faith, while he's an atheist. He is a man of power and wealth; she is an educated woman of lower class and poverty. With so much against them, can they truly find each other or do they have to settle for what they are expected to accept as their future and live for fleeting moments together?

The romance itself is so down-to-earth and real that you are touched deep within your heart from the moment it begins. As Eden becomes more and more involved in the Earl's life and his daily happenings, she sees a side of him that most others never acknowledge. But can the issues he deals with as the caregiver for his only sister, the expectations of him finding love with a woman he's been with since his childhood and the troubled mind he deals with from a stressful relationship with a now deceased father he never felt accepted by, be overcome? Touching moments as Eden and Colin work together to make a difference in his constituent’s lives and the lives of those around him, including a home of orphans whom he entrusted to others who failed him, along with romantic moments of stolen kisses and tender touching will make this book so very hard to put down. But unless someone makes a move, things are going to continue snowballing down this mountain of deceit until they're both forced into a life neither wants.

“Gentle Journey” is passionate, intriguing and completely enthralling.  Bach finds a way to tell a story that brings the reader instantly into the pages and never wanting to leave. This is an excellent book to carry you away on a romantic getaway of your own, without ever having to leave your own cozy reading chair.

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