cover image Beyond the Storm

Beyond the Storm

Joseph Pittman. Kensington, $15 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-0-7582-7698-8

Geeky Adam Blackburn took high school princess Vanessa Massey to the Danton Hill senior prom, where romance bloomed. But after graduation, Vanessa took off for Europe and Adam headed to New York City to make his fortune. Driving separately to their high school reunion during a rainstorm, Adam and Vanessa are involved in a car crash and seek shelter in a deserted house, where they spend the night taking turns monologuing about their past and their secrets. This disappointingly fails to produce any romantic tension. Vanessa and Adam come across as clichéd and unpleasant as they rediscover their passion for each other. A secondary plot revealed through letters they discover in the house makes a weak attempt to bolster their romance with reincarnation. Fans of Pittman’s sentimental Linden Corners series may find that this surprisingly dark love story goes too far afield. (June)