Review: The Anniversary Waltz

The Anniversary Waltz by Darrel Nelson
Reviewed by: Bonita L. Ledzius
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Publisher: Realm
Publication Date: 2012

The Anniversary Waltz gets my vote for the best story of the year. In an age where every movie that comes out is a remake of an old movie, or shares the theme of crashes, violence, blood and gore, but no legitimate story line, this book gives us the story many people are craving. It is the ultimate love story of the ages. In an age where divorce, and loving through brief meaningless relationships, ?The Anniversary Waltz? is a breath of fresh air, that gives the story of what made marriages and relationships work in the past, with couples staying married way past their Silver Anniversary of 25 years, and for many on past their Golden Anniversary of 50 years.

The story begins with a large family celebrating a special 60th anniversary of their Great Grandparents. The elderly couple shares a very special waltz that brings back memories of days gone by. Then the love story behind this couple begins as we flash back to how they came together 60 years before. You will find yourself rooting for them as the story unfolds, just as I found myself doing. If any couple ever deserved to be together it was Adam and Elizabeth from this book.

Lieutenant Adam Carlson has just returned home to Reunion, Montana, from serving in Italy during World War 2. He returns to the family farm that has been in his family for two generations, but has become run down in his absence. Adam also returns home to a mother who has missed him greatly, and a father who is bitter about Adam?s choice to join the military and leave the farm. These are the things Adam can see for himself, but there is so much more going on that will throw Adam?s world into a whole different type of fight then what he experienced in Italy. Will Adam be able to save the family farm? Will he be able to win the woman he loves, Elizabeth Baxter, from the bank?s loan officer and Adam?s childhood rival, Nathan Roberts? Will Adam ever be able to repair the broken relationship that he has with his father?

Elizabeth Baxter has lost both her parents, and has been taken in and raised by her Aunt Lenore, and Uncle?Will,? who is the town?s mayor. She?s been working in Lee Yang?s Dry Cleaner, and dating the town?s most eligible bachelor, Banker Nathan Roberts, for over a year. Everyone keeps telling her that she is a lucky young woman, and if she eventually marries Nathan that she will never want for anything. Elizabeth knows that is true, but also realizes that she will lose her independence to Nathan?s controlling personality, and that in a relationship with Nathan there will always be something missing. She is not sure what that thing is, but she feels near it when she comes close to Adam. Will Elizabeth marry Nathan, or give her heart to Adam? Will she be able to help Adam save his family?s farm? How will her Aunt and Uncle respond to Elizabeth?s choice for her life?

I often read a book with the thought ?Could I see this on stage or screen?? Does the story translate to a play or a movie? ?The Anniversary Waltz? has all the makings of both stage and screen, and as I read it I could see it playing out in both forms in my imagination. It would be a classic that would last generations, just as this love story is one that will last generations. The story is one that military veterans from generations before and even today would relate to, as well as the women who have loved them. Being the wife of a military man who is retired, it really spoke to my heart. It also gave me a look into the love story of my own parents who married when my father who was a First Lieutenant in the Army was serving just before World War 2, and went on to have 9 children, and celebrated many anniversaries up into 1980 when my mother passed on to Heaven. Through this story I could see my parent?s first waltz, and the struggles they must have shared through the years, to keep their marriage together even through the hard times. On a scale of 1 to 10, ?The Anniversary Waltz? rated a 15 with me.

?The Anniversary Waltz? had all the elements of a great love story? Darrel Nelson did a wonderful job of spinning this tale, through his vivid description of the setting of the farm and the town, to the plot of the story. He made it a book you couldn?t put down without it driving you to pick it back up to find out how the main characters would overcome their next challenge in their relationship and in their lives. It had all the elements you want in a story, a hero, a heroine, and a bad guy that you love to hate. The story even had those friends who encouraged the many parts of the story through their relationships with the main characters, the encouragers, jokesters, and quirky characters that we all come to love as alter-egos of the main characters. ?The Anniversary Waltz? had all the makings of some of our favorite old television shows of the 70?s like ?The Waltons?, and ?Little House on the Prairie?, because of the character development, and story line.

I would highly recommend this for everyone 12 to 100, boys and girls, men and women altogether. Besides some kissing, it has nothing that would be inappropriate for teens to read, and in fact actually would do a great deal for helping teens understand the need for moral values and respect in a relationship. If I had read this book as a teen 40 years ago, I know I would have looked for better values in my dating relationships, because every guy would have had to measure up to Adam?s moral values and respect for others. This story will touch the hearts of all ages, from those who have been married and in a committed relationship for decades, to those who are just starting out in a marriage as well. It will also touch the hearts of young adults who are still trying to find their soul mate. Men will relate to the male characters in the story, whether Adam, his father Hector, or his cousin Ty. Women will relate to Elizabeth, Adam?s mother Maude, and even the quirky friend Julie and Elizabeth?s aunt Lenore. I know that it will invade the imagination of every reader in a way that they can see some of their favorite old classic actors feeling the roles of each character as it plays like a movie in their minds.

?The Anniversary Waltz? is one book that should definitely be made into a stage play, a movie, or even a made-for-television movie.

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Rated PG: Nothing that is too graphic or inappropriate for teens, but the situations may be too difficult for young children to understand, especially when the main character recounts memories of his time fighting in World War 2.

Review copy provided by the author. Thank you!

Source: http://radiantlit.com/2013/01/review-the-anniversary-waltz/

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