Sarah and Malek had a passionate and destructive relationship. At their last encounter, they promised to meet twenty years later in that exact hour at their favorite restaurant in Nice. Now forty-two, Sarah waits at the Il Fortuna Cafe in the golden light of late afternoon Nice. Will Malek be the same mysterious man he was? Will he still want her? Will he even come?

REVIEW

The Golden Hour is a pleasant surprise. The story is a journey of self discovery. Sarah’s journey is not an easy one. The rocky road of emotional trauma she experiences is superbly written, and I felt as if I was right there with the character. Sarah is a survivor, and her choices reflect that. Malek on the other hand, is difficult for me to like. His feelings for Sarah seem genuine enough, but it is apparent that his love is extremely selfish. I enjoyed the addition of the secondary character Henry; his selfless love is sweet. It was easy to identify with the feelings Sarah has for Henry, and this brings a realistic feel to the story. I truly enjoyed the interesting way the story was written; it builds on the reader’s curiosity. This is a story that shouldn’t be missed. I can’t wait to read more by this wonderfully talented author.

Reviewed by: Teagan
www.bookwenches.com
rating: 4.75/5

EXCERPT

Thursday night, Sarah tried not to listen to every plane that flew overhead, wondering which one carried Malek home from his exotic fiancé. She spent a sleepless night, with her sheets balled up between her legs. Morning was a chore. She had an early class in the darkroom and contemplated skipping it, but only for a moment. She knew she would go even as she inspected her haggard face in the mirror. Her desire to see Malek was the same compulsion that made a child pick a scab off her knee to see what was underneath.

“You sure you’re up to this?” asked Karine when Sarah met her before class.

Sarah wished she hadn’t told her Malek was back. Karine’s childish concern trivialized the whole affair.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, but when they saw his car parked in the lot, her knees jellied.

“You want me to go up with you?” asked Karine.

“No.” Sarah wanted to go alone. She wanted there to be not another living soul on earth when she met him again.

Her shoes were cement weights on her feet as she mounted the stairs. She composed her face into a pleasant, levelheaded smile but couldn’t hold it still as she pushed open the door to the lab.

And there he was. Lab-coated, rubber-gloved and reeking of stop bath. Sarah had never seen anyone so beautiful in all her life. With a wistful smile, he took off his glove and showed her the plain gold band on his finger. Sarah’s heart stopped. It looked so much like a wedding ring.

“An engagement ring,” he said.

Somehow she traveled the distance between them, and kissed him chastely on the cheek.

“Congratulations.” She didn’t know what to do with her hands and they twitched uselessly at her hips. Malek grabbed them and pulled her into the darkroom closet where their hands first touched so many months ago. He closed the door and pushed her up against it.

“I’m a bad person, Sarah but godammit, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. I tried. Believe me, I tried.” He kissed her hard pressing her head against the door until it hurt. When he was done he looked her in the eye.

“Believe me?” he asked.

“I believe you.”