I bought this book when it first came out because I'm a fan of Ms. Beers' work. I also kept putting off actually reading it because I didn't know how the 9/11 aspect would be handled and, well, I just wasn't ready to read it.

I think this may be the best book she's written - at least of those I've read. And I've read all but her most recent novella/short story compilation, Slices of Life. I got choked up many times and, in some ways, 11 years disappeared. While that's the backdrop and the reason behind many of the emotions displayed by the characters, the focus of the book is the changes that the characters, to include the secondary ones, experience. Of course, the building relationship between Abby and Erica is front and center and the author does a great job of building the tension.

I definitely recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the author's work. ( )

Beautiful and inspiring story. The Author somehow manages to write a romantic (and sometimes sensual)story within the 9-11 aftermath.

Very humane and realistic romance. I also learned a little bit about how this little town
in Canada (Newfoundland) helped so many people that were stranded and unable to fligh back to our country...
( )

between 2.5 and 3.

so i surprised myself by mostly really enjoying this book. i wasn't expecting to like it at all, which might be why i'm tempted to rate it higher than it possibly warrants. but i did find myself totally drawn to it every time i put it down, and either smiling or tearing up nearly the entire time i was reading. so there's that.

the writing was better than i thought it would be; not great but more than adequate, with only a few places i would have really liked to see written or edited differently or better. the story was more layered than i anticipated it would be, and i appreciated that and the exploration of more than just a love story. there was actually quite a bit more, most of it not delved into too deeply, but more recurring themes about pain, loss, and of course loneliness. and a little more depth on the idea of personal change and growth. also i felt she handled the aftermath of 9/11 quite well. i was surprised at how much emotion i felt reading about 9/11 (this is the first book i've read that references it at all, and it's more or less a main character in this one) and the town of gander. she mentions in a foreword the same tv special i saw on gander during the 2010 olympics, and i remember it touching me deeply and thinking about it for weeks. (i was actually just talking about it again last week.) anyway the parts about the people of gander were also really emotional for me to read. (probably because the other theme that comes up again and again is compassion and humanity, and the people of gander epitomize this.)

i really liked that the love story was between 2 women, but that there was never a moment of anyone batting an eyelash about that; it was never questioned, never maligned, never devalued. never an issue or worth mentioning. it was discussed exactly as it would be discussed if it was a straight relationship, with every single person in the story.

ok, so i did like a lot of what was in this book. what i didn't like was some of the unrealistic or undeveloped character/story development (especially with brian), the weird power dynamic (this isn't really the right way to describe it) in the relationship that only sometimes showed up but was kind of creepy when it did (especially because it was supposed to be romantic or tender or something), the abject lack of communication between these two women that never seems to resolve itself, and the nice neat way things wrap up along the way and in the end. i know that is the kind of book this is, but there are a few places where a reader has to really just say, 'ok, fine, you needed it to get there.' i just think she could have concisely and easily written it to get there without making the reader take a leap of faith at all.

also she used the word "panties" over and over again. i really hate that word.

those were big enough to annoy me and wish it was different, but i still managed to have that smile on my face through most of this one, so it veers toward better than average for my rating. ( )

Abby Hayes and Erica Ryan are both heading back from London when the unthinkable happens - September 11th. In mid-air and with American airspace closed, their plane has to divert to Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. While in Canada waiting to go home, the pair are thrown together more than once, and a spark develops between them. But with emotions running so high and the two living hundreds of miles away from one another, it's difficult to trust what is real and what isn't.

I read a lot of queer romance books, but oftentimes I come away feeling disappointed. Either it feels like one of the characters needs "fixed" (something I despise with the passion of a thousand burning suns) or they look at one another and instantly fall in true love. All of those things irritate me. But, thankfully, none of those things occur in this book. Erica might be considered shy and standoffish, but it's not like she's unlovable because of it. Erica doesn't even like Abby at first and dubs her "Pollyanna." My only real complaint is that the author has a tendency to switch points of view mid-chapter (or even mid-paragraph), which can be confusing and distracting.

Otherwise, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I liked that the relationship definitely took prominence, but at the same time, the author explored the depth of emotions that people were feeling directly after September 11th, from anger to sadness to a desire for companionship. And the people of Gander were wonderful to read about, too. The Gander part was somewhat true, by the way; I'm sure that the people were fictional, but the situation definitely wasn't.

Altogether, I recommend this book. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. Ms Beers has captured my mind again in another unforgettable story. She has given more insight as to the effect of 9/11 on the lives of others I had never even thought about. ( )