Review and Giveaway: Feel Like Makin' Love by Barbara S Stewart

Andy Stevens was a ‘Rock God’ of the music world in the 1970s and 80s. He lived his life on the road, going from one concert venue to the next. And then he met the sweet girl-next-door, Beth Morgan, his “Bethy”. As a couple they spent many years together traveling life’s highway – a path with many ups and downs, detours, and finally a place where they would spend their forever together, but forever was a brief moment.

Carlee Oliver became an unexpected addition to Andy’s life that changed his direction completely. She taught him how to love – unconditionally – and became the daughter he never knew he needed. But now she was off in Europe, married, sharing her life with a new husband, and for the first time in many years, Andy found himself alone.

Reflections of years past and memories led him on a new journey.

Could he share his heart again…?



5 Star Review by Jen Hagen

This is the third book in the Rock and Roll series.  You MUST read the first two books before proceeding further as there will be spoilers.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda…  It seems like that has been Andy’s mantra for the past 17 years.  Andy continues to struggle with moving on and saying goodbye to the part of his heart that has been occupied with Bethy for so long.  He has maintained the single life ever since Carlee became permanently embedded into his life and now that she has married and moved to London, he doesn’t want to be alone.  It’s the first time in his life that he has truly felt alone.  He does have a romantic interest in his son-in-law’s mother, Geni, and he would like to explore the possibility of taking that further.

“Isn’t it time?...I want more.  I’m ready for more.”

For the longest time I wasn’t ready for Andy to move on.  I didn’t want him to mourn his past mistakes with Bethy forever, but I wasn’t ready for him to let go of her either.   Andy and I felt the same as there will be never anybody whom he can love as much as he did Bethy.  Once he claimed that he was alone, I was ready to accept the fact that he needed somebody.  He will never forget Bethy and he was very fortunate to find a woman who was so understanding to this as she herself has a big void in her heart that needs to be filled.  However, between Geni and Andy, there are a lot of past memories that need to be pushed aside in order to make new ones.  Both of them struggle at times to let go of the past and move forward.  It’s especially hard for Geni to accept Andy’s past since his life with Bethy was written into a book and she can see the mistakes he made back then.  Fortunately she also can see that Andy is not the same man that he was all those years ago.  Several glimpses into the past involving Bethy were very difficult to read without wet eyes.  I think every time Andy was reminded of Bethy, I cried. 

This is not only Andy’s story with his ability to move forward, but this continues to be Carlee’s journey as well.  Carlee is faced with a health crisis and the love of her surrounding family is insurmountable when it comes to standing beside her.  All of them possess a fierce love for her and she is so fortunate to not only have a husband who will do anything for her, but to also have a “papa” who will move from Florida to London in order to be with her.  Andy has always put Carlee at the forefront of his life and this continues.  This health crisis of Carlee’s hits very close to home for Andy.

Carlee has been dealt a bad hand of cards throughout her short life, but yet she confronts this latest obstacle with strength and optimism.   She not only keeps herself grounded but shares her strength with others who are suffering the same bad hand as hers.  It is remarkable how this petite girl can be the pillar of strength for everybody and make certain that nobody feels sorry for her.  

It’s hard to believe that this story, from book 1 to the end of book 3, spans 40 years.  At the end of book 3 Andy is now 72 years old.   I may not have had the highest regard for Andy and his mistakes in book 1, but at the end of this journey he is definitely not the same man.  He used to be selfish, but now he places everybody before him.  He isn’t afraid to show his emotions and doesn’t hold himself back from telling or showing people how he feels.   He may have made peace with letting go, but Bethy will continue to be a part of his life.

“I hope she never leaves us, Carlee.”

“She won’t.”

Barbara has done an excellent job bringing Andy to life.  I have always felt like I’m walking right beside him.  Barbara writes a scene and flawlessly moves you into the next one without realizing you have changed characters or points of view. 

 

I don’t want to say good-bye to Andy…He is a character that will forever stay in my heart.  When I think of how fiercely a person can love, I will forever think of Andy.  

One last task of our journey with Andy is to see Bethy’s story come alive on the big screen.

 

The film began with a man and a small girl standing hand in hand, graveside, singing “You Are My Sunshine”…

It ended with Beth walking alone, along the shore, leaving a trail of footprints in the sand as the screen faded…

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