Hollie Rose, Coffeehouse
"Anyone who has ever experienced the pang of thinking they've met their soulmate online will find familiararity in this story."
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Danielle Naibert, The Book Reviewer Site
I am not a big fan of "letter/diary" type books, but with Forever Until We Meet , I might just change my mind if I ever find another book like this.
Taylor sent me this book right before Christmas, and I had put it aside to read a couple bloody horror books (to set me in the mood for the holidays), but one morning I grabbed her book by mistake and I started to read and was totally caught up in the story of Patricia's love affairs. In fact, so much so, I ended up reading the whole book that morning.
This is a story that any romance reader will fall in love with. It is modern, new and a full story using diary and letter styling. I even had a couple tears at the end of the book, it was beautiful. Actually, this book is beautifully written.
You feel the main character, Patricia's, emotions. Her passage's in diary format made me feel as if I was sneaking into someone's private life. This book didn't read at all like a novel, but like someone's heartbeat.
I rarely find a total love story set in a modern setting that moved me like Forever Until We Meet has, and I doubt if I ever will again.
This is a story that will enchant and fullfill all those who have loved, lost and loved again. This is a story that all women should read and memorize. It is a poetry of a modern day romance.
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Diane Heintz gave it 5 stars!
"Who can resist the temptation of an inviting stack of letters or a revealing diary just lying there waiting for us to take a peek? And who hasn't saved some fiercely personal mementos, tucked away until we're brave enough to face the memories they represent?
Vicki M. Taylor's Forever Until We Meet uses the lure of these elements to draw us into a touching tale. On a nostalgic whim, Patricia Martin bravely revisits her past from the warmth and safety of the present. She digs into a long-avoided collection of personal correspondences that document her passage from one phase of life to the next.
The pages take her back to a time of loneliness and vulnerability, the week when her grown daughter moves away from home. Fate sends Patricia a new tool to fill the void. Her first personal computer becomes her daily companion. She quickly discovers that e-mail is a wonderful thing, and that the Internet is her friend - or is it?
Forever Until We Meet skillfully presents Patricia's growing romance in a sequence of letters, e-mails and diary pages. Her journey proves that sometimes you have to wage a battle for happiness, and that it might take several battles to win the war. For anyone who has ever been wounded by love, Forever Until We Meet proves that you are not alone-and more important, that you should not give up. "
Diane Heintz is a writer and publisher. Her company, Heicron Incorporated , has recently introduced Sex Without Love , a contemporary cautionary tale for women, available through bn.com and amazon.com . If you have a teenage daughter, if you are a teenage daughter, or if you've ever been a teenage daughter, you'll be interested in Sex Without Love . Check it out at heicron.com !
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Cy Korte, ebookisle.com
This contemporary novel is not a story to be read in one sitting, but enjoyed as each part unfolds. The emotional highs and lows are well expressed and you will find yourself joining with Pat as she views the world from her growing perspectives.
FOREVER UNTIL WE MEET starts with "Grandma tell me again how you and grandpa met." Here is where the difference begins that many readers will enjoy. She starts the telling with when she was a 43-year-old single-parent and her 23-year-old daughter was moving to another state. As her daughter moves out, she gifts her mom with a new computer soon nicknamed ACK! Pat soon has joined the '40ish chat board' and begins correspondence with several members, most importantly James. She finds the internet changing her perspectives and her life and James becomes real to her and her best friend.
Cyber-romance can be compared to correspondence of mail-order brides through history with the difference of a more immediate reply. As mature adults, they both have their 'baggage' from the past to share with each other and problems to work through. It was interesting to learn more of both James and Pat through their emails that also included some teasing sexual overtures. As the time comes nearer to their actual meeting, the intensity of their emotions shine through including their apprehension if their love could survive in the 'real world.' As this is written through viewing Pat's past, there are 'current inserts' that hint that this relationship is heading for some difficulties.
As this is a novel rather than a traditional romance, the perspective is on the emotional and personal aspects of Pat's life although the story is about her romance with James. The understanding and questioning of self-worth, the look at pressures from the world around us even as mature adults and the ability to accept and continue when life takes an unexpected turn. Knowing from the beginning that she has found her 'happily ever after' allows the indulgence of reading from a point-of-view of happiness although the tears will come as you share in Pat's remembrances.
Cy Korte © February 2002
For eBOOKISLE.com
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Amanda, Crazy for Words Book Reviews
Widowed Patricia finds a new world when her grown daughter gives her a computer. Suddenly, she is plunged into the chat rooms and quickly makes a new friend, James. In him, she finds a soul mate, sharing interests and fast forming a bond. Through her diary entries and their letters, we watch their romance blossom over the course of several months.
At last, the time comes for them to meet. All but assured of marriage, Patricia liquidates her ties to her home and goes to Florida to meet the man of her dreams. It turns out to be a nightmare. Although James had said that appearance was not the priority in his life, the fact that Patricia is not quite Christie Brinkley is a major disappointment to him, and she is hurt and angered. Can this relationship be saved?
This book shows the joys and dangers that the net has opened for all of us. Though the way the story is told is unusual, the popularity of the GRIFFIN AND SABINE series shows that this format can work.
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Judith Rippelmeyer, The Word on Romance
Divorced, and alone after her daughter moves out, Patricia Martin turns to the computer bulletin boards for friendship...and maybe love. She begins emailing another bulletin board frequenter, James Campbell, a Florida physician. Soon the friendship heats up, and Patricia finds herself on an airplane, headed for Florida....and a new life. Unfortunately, knights in shining armor turn out to be tarnished and true love doesn't always run a true course. However, sometimes love finds us when we aren't looking either!
Told almost completely through diary entries and emails, FOREVER UNTIL WE MEET is the tale of many cyber friendships. Patricia and James are like millions of others who use the computer today to find friendship, love....and sometimes more. It's filled with the hopes, the thrills, and the disappointments such relationships can bring.
Ms. Taylor's unusual style provides readers with a rather enjoyable experience. Readers take the voyeur's seat rather than a seat in the midst of the action. FOREVER UNTIL WE MEET brought back many memories for me, to the days when I first got a computer and to the many friends I made in my first days online.
Not your standard, traditional romance, FOREVER UNTIL WE MEET is instead a realistic look at relationships and internet romances. Ms Taylor has done a remarkable job in storytelling and I highly recommend FOREVER UNTIL WE MEET. - 5 stars!
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MyShelf.com Review! a 5 star review!
Kristie Leigh Maguire, author of Emails from the Edge, Desert Triangle and contributor to Calliope's Mousepad: Women Writers Online
http://clik.to/kristie
Forever Until We Meet by Vicki M. Taylor is one of those rare stories that captures the heart, soul and imagination of the reader from the very first page. It is one of those stories that you just want to keep going and going - even after the last page has been reached.
Patricia Martin has reached that time in her life that is so commonly called by that tired old cliché, 'empty nest syndrome'. Although in Patricia's case, the nest had existed of only herself and her daughter; the husband and father had exited himself from their lives long ago. Patricia was ready for something new, to move on with her life, to have a life of her own after so many years of devoted attention to her daughter. Not that she regretted giving her life over to raising her daughter - but wasn't this the perfect time to begin a life of her own? Patricia turned to the computer that her daughter had purchased for her and the world of virtual reality to begin the journey of her new life.
James Campbell was searching for something; something that perhaps existed only in his mind - not something that was attainable in the real world. His self esteem was at its lowest; his wife had left him - and not for another man either. His wife had left him for another woman. James turned to the computer and the Message Boards of the cyber world to begin his pursuit of the 'unattainable' and to build up his low self esteem.
Patricia and James meet in cyberspace at the "Anyone 40ish" Message Board. This is their story as told in their messages to each other. Come read along as their relationship escalates and grows - into love.
Forever Until We Meet is a must read. It is so very pertinent to today's world of cyberspace, virtual reality - and instant messaging. It will go to the very top of my most beloved books. Thank you, Vicki M. Taylor, for creating such a wonderful story as you did in Forever Until We Meet .
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Lori Zecca, author of Love Enough for All www.authorsden.com/lorizecca
I felt like a voyeur reading the personal emails and diary entries of two forty-something's-unearthing the intimate details of a budding romance that literally unfolded before my eyes. The sexual tension escalating between Pat and James had me reeling at times. Poignant disclosures courtesy of the cyber world surprised not only the correspondents, but also myself as the reader, as personal disclosures brought the cyber-couple to an unexpected level of intimacy without the two having even met. The author's lyrical prose made the adventure almost poetic, and it was most definitely a page-turner! I recommend Forever Until We Meet to anyone looking for an enjoyable read. - 5 stars!!
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5 stars! - Linda Strong, Administrator, Medical Formum & Managed Care
I really enjoyed this one. I wanted to cheat and read the ending after reading the first couple of chapters...but I prevailed. This book is not what I expected...it's not just another run-of-the mill love story. It's very modern and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. I think it was very well written...easy to understand.
If I can get lost in a book and "see" the characters, then I feel it's a 'keeper'. I look forward to seeing more of this author's writings.
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4 stars! - An Entertaining Read, from Janice L. Jones from Plymouth, MI
This book is about a middle-age woman finding romance via the Internet. The characters are believable and likeable,and drew me right into the story. The writer's lively style kept me turning the pages.
I loved the story but also enjoyed the format of the book, which includes e-mail messages.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading realistic fiction and romance.
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Forever Until We Meet is an appealing search for true love, mysterious and hopeful, which leads the reader to experience almost a roller coaster of emotional feeling. The ending gives proof that life itself may offer, unknown to us, the most fulfilling answers!
--Kathy Brady, Ed.D