"A fun twist on an old nursery rhyme"

If looking for a delightful short story to while away some spare time, this one will satisfy even the most finicky of readers.

Jill Cooper decides to attend a party at her friend Eric's house for Valentine's Day. While there, she bumps into an old lover, a man with whom she had thought she'd spend the rest of her life, until a fateful accident came between them. She has never forgotten this man whom she'd loved with all her heart, who was forced away by his mother. The last thing she'd ever expected upon seeing him again was his bitterness towards her.

Jack Randall had loved Jill completely. The last time they were together was a year ago on Valentine's Day, the day that changed his life irrevocably. While enjoying the holiday on Fantasy Hill with Jill, he fell, resulting in a head injury that put him in a coma for months. When he woke up, he found Jill was long gone, abandoning him in his time of need, according to his mother. Can the two of them overcome their hurts from before, to on this Valentine's Day at their old haunt Fantasy Hill, find the love they were meant to have?

Ms. Foxxe has penned a lovely story retelling the old rhyme of Jack and Jill. Jill was heartbroken over being forced apart from the one man she loves, especially considering she feels partially responsible for his accident. When Jack awakens from his coma, he is crushed to think Jill couldn't handle his injury and abandoned him to loneliness. The reader feels what Jack and Jill are feeling... all their love, frustration, hurt, and anger.

What could have been a tired storyline -- a "big misunderstanding" is given a fresh feeling here. Interestingly enough also, the antagonist, Jack's mother, never makes an appearance in the whole story. The reader's only opinion of her is created in Jack's and Jill's feelings of her. This can make one wonder, just what all did his mother do to separate the two lovers? Was there more to it then what Jill thinks? It gives the chance to imagine just how extreme her behavior was.

All in all, this short story will please the readers, giving them a chance to escape into another world, and a fairy tale, at least for a little while.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2004. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted May 3, 2004

Summary

The passionate lovers, Jack and Jill are torn apart because of a terrible accident. A year later Jack pursues the desirable Jill up into the woods of Fantasy Hill to renew their torrid affair. But Jill has reason to believe that Jack is not the same sexy man she loved before.