Review ‘Can’t Buy Forever’ by Susan Laffoon

In the
early 1950s, Odessa Drake (Dessa) is rescued from a bleak existence with a
single mother. She takes a chance on the unknown to work in a boarding house
owned by a widowed great aunt in Mineville, New York. Dessa is devoted to Aunt
Flo and especially a young man, Nicholas, who appears and takes shelter in the
attic, the only available space. Four years pass. She looks forward to each day
because of his presence, in spite of the tedious work. Dessa is now eighteen
and knows little more of Nicholas than the day he arrived to work the mines.
She knows only he is a remarkable man who has a limp and she trusts Nicholas
explicitly. There is a familiarity both recognize and an unshakeable bond
develops. Nicholas has reasons to keep his past buried. Dangers loom and become
evident when Nicholas gets too close and exposes their bond. What is the
mystery behind this threat? To discover the answer, they escape by railway
heading West, colliding with treachery and uncovering secrets, mile by mile.
Their journey is impossible, but, they are supported by friends who risk their
lives to make sure a great love and lineage is preserved. Or is it? None will
forget their odyssey as they proceed to their destiny farther than they
imagined.

A view
weeks ago I received ‘Can’t Buy Forever’ in exchange for my review. This book
sounded like an interesting read so I was super excited to start reading as
soon as I could.

In ‘Can’t
Buy Forever’ we meet Odessa Drake. Odessa lives in a boarding house owned by
her widowed aunt. Years ago Nicholas started living in the attic of the
boarding house. And ever since Odessa and Nicholas had a special bond. But
since Nicholas is older, nothing ever happened more than friendship. And Odessa
really wants to change that. But there is a lot of mystery surrounding Nicholas,
and he has a lot of secrets. 

Although I
definitely enjoyed several parts of this book, I also had a view issues with
it. For one I found this book beginning rather abruptly. I felt like I was
missing the first view chapters. There wasn’t much of an intro and I think the
beginning should have had more of an introduction. 

The main
characters Odessa and Nicolas were very different. Odessa was head over heels
in love with Nicholas, and it was really obvious. Especially in the beginning
there didn’t seem to be more about her character. And I would have liked her
much more if she had a little strength of her own.

Nicholas
was mysterious and kind, and I definitely think he was the best thing about this
book. There was such mystery about his character, which made me want to keep on
reading. 

Reading
this review, it sounds like I didn’t like this book at all, which isn’t true. I
definitely enjoyed some moments, and the mystery about Nicholas’s character really
made up for most other problems I had about this read. I really wanted to keep
on reading till I knew what was going on.

Susan Laffoon knows whereof she writes having been raised in
Glens Falls, in upstate New York. There, the Hudson River and the boulders
that lie in its path, is Cooper’s Cave, a hide-a-way made famous in James
Fedimore Cooper’s novel, ‘Drums Along The Mohawk.’ She visited this impressive
attraction often growing up and listened to the rushing waters that echoed in
the cave. There she decided to one day write romantic adventures. Thus as a
young girl, while friends played with dolls, she imagined and scribbled stories
of adventure to escape childhood responsibilities and unhappiness. She
continued to journal through the years occupied with her husband, Greg, and
seven children. It was discovered her love of storytelling was predisposed from
a Scandinavian father who died young, a journalist for the Denver Post, a half
century earlier. This passion is being fulfilled by his daughter, since putting
aside her stethoscope and career as a registered nurse. “Writing has always been
in the shadow of my heart”.

For more information about Susan please visit her on Twitter.