A Rose for Maggie
By Eileen Dreyer writing as Kathleen Korbel
Publisher: Eileen Dreyer
Release Date: December 14, 2016
(Originally published as Silhouette Intimate Moment #396,
July 1, 1991)





River Roads Publishing, a small, regional company, has
scored big with the Binkley Brothers series, children’s books written and
illustrated by L. Wood Dowd. The head of PR is eager to seize the moment and
have the popular author touring across the country, but Dowd, an obvious
pseudonym, zealously protects his identity. The publishers know only his post office box
number, the sound of his answering machine, and the skill of his lawyer. Allison
Henley, Dowd’s editor, is assigned the task of tracking down the man behind the
name. She is uneasy about the task, believing that Dowd has a right to his
privacy, but with her job at stake, she feels that she has little choice but to
comply. A single mother with a special needs daughter, she needs her job
because it allows her the flexibility to earn a living and still be there when
her child needs her. Thus, after some clever detective work, on a spring day, she
prepares to meet Dowd, one Joseph Burgett, at his home. Allison’s image of Dowd
as a white-haired cross between Mark Twain and Santa Claus is shattered the
moment she meets the real Joe.
Joe Burgett is a man happy with his life. He is a carpenter
who takes pride in his work and enjoys being one of the guys. He is an
indulgent uncle who delights in the nieces and nephews with which his many
siblings have obligingly provided him. He is a musician who plays a mean
saxophone. His success as Dowd has allowed him to buy an old Victorian house he
has coveted since childhood. He knows that he cannot preserve his anonymity
forever, but he is reluctant to have fame change his comfortable life. Regardless
of his reservations, he can’t resist Allison, the pretty, cautious young woman
who has him thinking that his plans for someday may have shifted into present
tense.
Allison is no less attracted to Joe and the more she sees of
him, the more irresistible she finds him. But Allison has determined that there
is no room in her life for romance. Her first priority is Maggie, her beautiful
six-month old daughter who has Down syndrome and a heart defect that threatens
her life. If Maggie’s own father could abandon her four days after her birth,
unable to deal with an imperfect child, how can Allison expect another man to
accept Maggie? Joe falls more and more in love with Allison and with adorable
Maggie, but can he deal with the challenges that come with loving this mother
and daughter? And can he persuade Allison that what they can be together is
worth the risk to her heart?
I almost danced with joy when Eileen Dreyer announced that
she was reissuing the books she had written as Kathleen Korbel. I eagerly
downloaded them as they were released and waited for my favorite, A Rose for Maggie. This book has been on
my keeper shelf and on my list of all-time best romances since the summer in
1991 when I first read it. I have reread it countless times since and loved it
more with each rereading. For more than twenty-five years, it has been one of
the books I cite in my response to those who ramble on about the limitations of
romance.
Korbel/Dreyer takes on a tough subject and presents it with
clarity and empathy. Allison and Joe are deeply human characters who are
confronted with real problems. They are likable, even more so because they are
not perfect. Allison, whose devotion to Maggie is genuine and powerful, is torn
by fear and guilt. Joe has to ask himself not only whether he can be a father
to Maggie but whether his love for Allison is great enough to surrender some of
his own dreams. This novel not only touches the reader’s heart; it also pushes
her to think some long thoughts.
Allison is both strong and vulnerable, and her anguish and
conflict pack a huge emotional punch. Joe is quite simply one of the best
heroes ever—smart, funny, loving, honest, generous, and all the other qualities
that are most essential in the catalog of heroic qualities. I don’t think it is
mere coincidence that this Joseph is a carpenter who commits to loving and
rearing a child that is not his own. Yet sainthood aside, he is real. Maggie is
not just a generic baby with a problem. She is a definite person in her own
right. Lucille, who helps care for Maggie, and Joe’s large, loving family are
also deftly drawn. Even the Binkley Brothers, the monsters who inhabit Joe’s
books and whom the reader meets in excerpts, are memorable. And the ending is
perfect.
A Rose for Maggie
won a Rita in 1992, and it won a permanent place on the best of romance list of
many readers. To say I highly recommend this book feels like an understatement.
If I could send you all copies with a message saying “Please read this. You
will be glad you did,” I would do so. If you have not read it, I hope you will.
If you have not read it recently, it is well worth a reread.
~Janga
Thank you so much for letting me know about this book. It is the type of reading I appreciate. Real people who deal with what real life throws at them is something I like. Reading romance is an escape of sorts, but it can also be a reminder that love is there for everyone to reach for. Everyone can be a hero or heroine in their own way. It sounds like Eileen Dreyer has done an excellent job of defining her characters and writing their story. It is now on my wish list and I hope to get it soon.
ReplyDelete“Please read this. You will be glad you did,”
ReplyDeleteI now have a folder in Evernote entitled Janga_keepers which houses these enticing 5-star plus suggestions. Like the tortoise racing the hare, I am determined to catch up someday!
Thanks Janga, for another great review.
Janga, your review makes me want to drop everything and read this story right now. Maybe I will! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation. I had not heard of this book, and it sounds like a wonderful story.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I opened the email today. The review and the comments make me want to go find the book immediately.
ReplyDeleteThanks.