A Love Affair for Lizzie

A better title for this book, would be, IMO - LIZZY GROWS UP - you'll see why if you read this book. This is a very hard review to write. LIZZIE'S LOVE AFFAIRS is an exceptionally well-written book. There are so many elements that are in place for a really top-of-the-line, superb read. The writing is exceptional, the characterizations are really, really good, the people in the story come alive, and the scenery comes alive as well. Ms. Gedney is one of those rare writers who can make you feel what she is writing about - I actually *felt* Vienna, the setting for most of this book... However, as the previous reviewers have mentioned, there are some very basic problems here, and it really is a pity, as this did have the potential of being a truly outstanding read. Matthew and Lizzie have grown up together. As they get older, they slowly fall in love, and they informally agree that they will get married as soon as Matthew comes back from the army. Lizzie agrees to wait for Matthew to come back, and she has no desire or inclination to "see the world" herself - Lizzie is a "homebody" and is quite content to live abroad vicariously through her sweetheart's letters, until ... they seem to stop coming... and until.... The final letter where he informs her that he is now engaged - to someone else. Lizzie develops a plan to go abroad with a family friend, not to win him back, you understand, but to show him what he has lost... The only problem, and the MAJOR problem with this book, is the ending. At about page 200, I realized that this author would need another 200 pages, at least, to finish up all the loose threads, and there are only 60 pages left. Well, I was right. Almost up until the very, very end, we have no idea how the book will end, when suddenly, she chooses, they get married, THE END. Worse than the quick finish is the melancholy tone of the last twenty pages - not only do we not understand the ending, it doesn't even seem as though the AUTHOR understands the ending, she writes about it almost as you would a tragedy! When you read a romance, you expect a happy ending, but this book does NOT have one. True, "they" get married, but it seems as if even the AUTHOR was not sure of their "happily-ever-after" - she spends most of the book explaining why she CAN'T marry him, and suddenly she marries him? Was this because this author was not sure how to end it, and just finished it off quickly? Was it because she had a deadline, and wasn't finished? Was it because she did not have enough length to explain her ending, and would have made more sense if she would have more time to explain it? Or was it simply because, she had made herself such a tangle that even she herself couldn't see a way out for anyone to have a happy ending? Truthfully, I don't know why the author ended this book the way she did, but I do know that if you were looking for a happy ending kind of a story, you will not find this a satisfying read. And that's really

When Lizzie Lancaster was 15 years old, she was in love with a man she had known her whole life: Matthew Webster. When Matthew leaves for war, they have an understanding. Someday, Lizzie and Matthew will be married.Three years later, Lizzie receives a heart-renching missive from her beau. Matthew is engaged to another woman--a Miss Teresa Blackwell! Lizzie is determined to show Matthew she is more worldly than he realizes. She decides to take matters into her own hands. With a friend, Lizzie travels to Vienna... where Matthew is.The back of the book fails to mention the OTHER man who becomes a large part of Lizzie Lancaster's life. Daniel Thoreau, an American, becomes her traveling partner and fast friend. I enjoyed this book very much. Every character lent something special to the story. I especially enjoy books where the heroine is courted by not one, but two (nearly three, in this book) suitors. It makes the book less predictable. "An Affair for Lizzie" was definitely unpredictable--and it was flavored with sweeping intrigue.Unpredictable indeed! I was stunned by the last two chapters. Actually, "stunned" isn't the appropriate word. I felt slighted, devastated and heartbroken. I wish I could have sat down with the writer for a few minutes to tell her to CHANGE THE ENDING!!! In my opinion, it was incredibly rushed... and Lizzie wasn't with the right guy (I'm not going to say who I think the "right guy" was. After reading this book, however, I am sure you will agree with me). It seemed so obvious to me. *sigh* Oh well...Had this book ended in an unhurried, APPROPRIATE way, it would have easily gotten 5 stars from me. It is interesting the whole way through--and it's better than anything I've read from Mona Gedney thus far. I would recommend it... though bear in mind you might be disappointed. Why the author went in the direction she did, I have no idea.