"An amusing romance with serious undertones"

Fort Lauderdale CPA Sara Crawford learns that she has inherited Thorne Island on the Ohio side of Lake Erie from her Aunt Millie who she has not seen in fifteen years. Her aunt's Cleveland based attorney admits he has not seen the property, but the brochure he sent her makes it look wonderful. Sara changes her post April 15th vacation plans from Aruba to Ohio.

However, the island is nothing like the brochure, as the Cozy Cove Inn needs plenty of work to become habitable though four men live there. Apparently her aunt leased rooms to these recluses for twenty-five years at one hundred dollars per person. Though she wonders how these gents conned her aunt, to her surprise she finds one of the hermits Nick Bass quite attractive and he reciprocates. However, as they squabble and fall in love, he keeps a few secrets about his past from her including his true identity fearing that once she learns the truth it could end their relationship which was built without trust.

THE MEN OF THORNE ISLAND is an amusing romance with serious undertones that will grip the audience through the lead couple, the other three rascally hermits, additional secondary characters, and a yellow VW Bug. The story line provides the audience with delightful dialogue often humorous, yet it continually reminds the audience that everyone needs somebody to need them. Cynthia Thomason writes a contemporary romance that will turn the sub-genre into hermits for a few hours.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted February 22, 2003