Return to Sender – Fern Michaels

Lin Townsend has had a very sheltered life and has endured being bullied and beaten by her religious maniac of a father. When she was very young she was made to go to school in urine stained clothes because he wouldn’t allow her to go to the bathroom until she had finished reciting the bible passage he made her learn by heart. So, at age seventeen when she has the very first opportunity to escape her father’s violence by attending a maths tournament out of town, she jumps at the chance.

That’s when it happens. She meets Nick Pemberton, the most handsome boy she has ever laid eyes on and they have four wonderful days of fun and intimacy before Lin has to return home to her living hell. Two months later Lin discovers she is pregnant and when her father discovers the thruth, he literally throws her out into the street with only the clothes she has on her back. Fortunately Lin has saved some money to go to college with and using that she finds a one room garage apartment to live in and a job waiting tables at a local diner to keep a roof over her head. She tries to contact Nick to tell him of her plight but all her letters are returned unopened with the stamp “Return to Sender” on the envelope.

Eighteen years later we meet Lin again and this time she is in much better circumstances. After working two jobs and extra shifts at the diner before and after her son, Will was born, she is now the owner of the diner and a wealthy woman. We meet her as she is about to attend the NYC University open ceremony with Will who is about to commence his undergraduate degree in veterinary medicine. For the past eighteen years Lin has repeatedly tried to contact Nick to tell him about his son, but still the letters are returned unopened. Then, on what should have been the happiest day of her life she sees Nick Pemberton again and that is where the story really begins.

The first few chapters of this story are compelling reading. I loved Lin instantly and really wanted to know what happened to her and Will. As the book progresses, though, Lin begins to act foolishly and out of character from the original portrait that had been painted of her. I just couldn’t grapple with these two Lin Townsend’s and it irritated me to think how ridiculous she was being and I couldn’t believe she would resort to acting so childishly. Having said that, even though she got on my nerves, it did not stop me reading the whole story! I realised that those first few chapters had me hooked enough to care about what happened and had made me hopeful that Lin would get over the nonsense and be her nice self again.

I honestly cannot remember ever being so undecided about whether I liked a character or not. One thing is for sure, even though I really enjoyed the story I was glad when I finished reading it!

Have you ever had a character in a story really get on your nerves?

8.5/10