Cherlyn Michaels Counting Raindrops through a Stained Glass Window

Counting Raindrops through a Stained Glass Window

Cherlyn Michaels

Hyperion, Sep 2005, $12.95

ISBN: 1401308139

Vanella Morris fled St. Louis and her dysfunctional family, but took with her the belief that marriage is legalized incarceration especially once the seven year itch of is that all there is in relationships surfaces. She seems to have her life together in Cleveland as she is rising rather quickly in the corporate world, doing financially fine and has an adoring boyfriend who she loves, spends plenty of time with, and is so Goode to her.

Her beloved Alton devastates their relationship when he tells Vanella that he loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her in marriage. Vanella invokes her O Theory that marriage nukes the best of loving relationships that she bases on the divorce rate and anecdotally her parents; she avoids responding. An upset Alton ends their six year relationship. While Vanella is stunned by his departure, she goes home for a family crisis where she sees another perspective of her family and reconsiders Alton's proposal.

Though the lead couple should move to the "amoral" northeast as the divorce rates are the lowest in the country starting with Massachusetts, the key to the gender bending commitment phobia tale is the lead female protagonist. Vanella is a strong woman in so many ways yet her fears of what marriage does to relationships are palatable and realistic. Alton is a fabsulous courageous individual willing to give up what he cherishes most in the world if she is unable to move on to the next level with him. While some of the secondary cast especially her best friend and her siblings lack depth, fans of strong contemporary tales will appreciate this superb profound look at marriage and relationships.

Harriet Klausner