REVIEW OF "UNDER THE SUN" BY JUDE OUVRARD

REVIEW -

I met this author through facebook and her excitement over her first novella was catching! I could not wait to read it and I was lucky enough to get a copy not too long after it debuted. I must tell you, I was not disappointed. Under The Sun is a beautiful story about falling in love and healing. Jude Ouvrard brings these characters to life in the perfect way. I'm often worried about character development in shorter works but this is done perfectly because you also have the joy of falling in love with the minor characters peppered throughout. Under the Sun is a powerful, emotional, sweet and sexy read you won't want to miss. I can hardly wait to read more by this author. And guess what? You won't have to wait long. 

AUTHOR BIO - Jude was born and raised in a small village named Lacolle. She now lives in Montreal, Canada. She is the proud mother of a beautiful four year old son, and has spent the last twelve years with her partner, Cedric. French is her native language, but she prefers to write in her second language, English.

Besides working full time for a Title Insurance Company and being a mother, Jude has a passion for books, both reading and writing them.

Her first novella, Under the Sun was published at the end of July 2013. It is part of a Beach Read called Heat Wave. Her second novella, Wonderland, will be out in October and its part of a Fall anthology. Both will be published with Renaissance Romance publishing.

She is currently working on a novel called Body, Ink, and Soul. She is hoping to publish by November or December 2013.



How about an excerpt from this wonderful novella?  Here you go! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

EXCERPT - It might have been my imagination, but when our eyes met, I felt something stirring inside me. I stared at her, wondering what had just happened, and I could still feel the tingling warmth on my skin. There was something between us, but I didn’t know quite what. Everything felt right, like we were supposed to be together.

Tracey looked away, breaking our connection. “Do you need help with anything?”

“Nope. Everything's ready.” Even though I could have stared at her all night, I didn’t want to ruin the evening. So I turned my attention to our dinner and got the bruschetta and the garlic bread on the table.

“Mmm, it looks delicious, chef.” Tracey laughed. She had quite the spirit, and unlike so many women, she didn’t appear to be complicated.

When I placed the shrimp Alfredo linguini on the table, Tracey literally licked her lips. “I think I might join you for dinner every night. It smells so good.”

“I would love that,” I replied. “The company would be nice.”

Tracy was unsettling to me, causing me to lose tact and intelligence.

For the most part, we ate in silence. Often I found myself just staring at her, like she was going to run away if I wasn’t watching her. I’d remembered her features from the first time I saw her, but she seemed different now, almost serene and calm. The first time I’d met her, I had seen the love and devotion for Mrs. Howard in her eyes, but now they were tired and sad. Regardless of how beautiful I thought she looked tonight, I wanted to be able to change that for her, to bring happiness to her eyes.

The first time I’d seen Tracey, her blond hair had been a lot shorter, too. It had reached just below her ears, but now, it hung down to the middle of her back. She’d been wearing yoga pants with a Hello Kitty T-shirt. At the time, I thought it was adorable, young and fun, but tonight she looked more mature and sexy. She was perfect.

“Earlier, you mentioned that you're here for the summer.” It was the best way I could think to start a conversation.

“Yeah. I needed some time away from home. The past few years have been rough. What about you?”

Rough? What did Tracey mean? But instead of pushing her to clarify, I heard myself rambling out an answer to her question. “I'm here for the summer, too, but I might have to leave on a few business trips.”

“Oh, that’s great. I took a couple months off work. Believe me, I needed it.”

“Do you mind me asking why?”

“Oh, sure. I can't just give you little pieces here and there and not tell you everything. I spent the last few years taking care of my grandmother. She passed away recently. Beth had Alzheimer’s, and by the end, she was so lost inside herself. She could remember the house where she grew up in Salt Lake City, but she couldn't remember who I was. It's a terrible disease. She lost all her knowledge and independence. Even simple things like going to the bathroom or changing her clothes were a challenge.

“Sometimes, Beth thought I was her sister Amanda. And there were days when she thought I was her caregiver. Those days were the worst; she didn't want help, and she thought she was doing just fine, so I had to deal with her constant mood swings and irritability. Oh, and the language that came out of her mouth? Well, let’s just say that my grandmother wouldn’t have used those words.