Love's Redemption by Helen Macpherson

Publisher:              Regal Crest Enterprises


Jo Ashby is a television star with her program “Where Are They Now?” which features stories about famous people who drop out to create a new direction in their lives. The series is doing very well, but Jo won’t be satisfied until she can do the story that interests her the most. Lauren Wheatley was the most promising amateur on the women’s golf circuit ten years ago when she had an unexpected meltdown in a tournament and disappeared from sight. 

Jo locates Lauren serving as the chief guide in a nature park in Tasmania and sets out to find out what happened to someone who everyone thought would end up in the Hall of Fame. Lauren doesn’t want the publicity of the show because she’s got more than one secret that she doesn’t want revealed. She’s very happy living in obscurity and resists Jo in every way she can think of. Some things are inevitable though and, as the women get to know each other and cooperate on some rescue missions of lost hikers, they find there is a mutual attraction. 

Jo has to decide if she can compromise her journalistic principles to protect Lauren’s secrets and Lauren has to decide if she can let her barriers down enough to enjoy a relationship with someone who can actually return her feelings. And there is another presence lurking in Lauren’s life that might make everything impossible.

Love’s Redemption is Macpherson’s third published novel. She doesn’t publish her books as quickly as some writers, but she always delivers a solid story when she does. A reader can always expect detailed character development wrapped in a tight and focused story. Macpherson delivers again. This is a lesbian romance, but it steps a shade above the norm. 

Lauren Wheatley is an intricate character who draws the reader into her mysteries slowly. Jo Ashby is the type of journalist that most people wish was really on television as she seems to understand that there is a line that should not be crossed when reporting about a person’s private life. The emotions that both of these characters experience radiate off of the pages. Add to that detailed descriptions of a shark hunt underwater, the beauty of the nature park and the dangers of rescuing people lost in snow storms and the result is a rich story. 

Macpherson throws in a supernatural storyline that isn’t usual in her books, but fits perfectly here. Waiting three or four years for an author’s next book is worth it when the reader knows she can count on a story that has some quality to it and is enjoyable to read. Love’s Redemption fulfills both qualities.