I'll Be Looking for More by this Writer

I had never heard of Alice Hoffman when I bought this book at a used book sale. I'm sure glad I picked it up. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, since the cover description could have described a romance, or a mystery, or a horror novel. After reading it, I would probably classify it as a romance, though there are other subplots going on that are just as interesting as the main one.

As another epinion stated, the main focus of the story is between Robin and Stephen. On impulse Robin rescues Steven from being committed to a sanitarium. Stephen had lived most of his life in the wild, raised by wolves; humans, not being able to understand him, thought he was crazy. He was not abandoned in the wild, but was the only survivor of an airplane crash. At the age of three, he follows some wolves to a cave, where no one knows he exists, until, as an adult he is found by some hunters who have shot one of his "brothers" (another wolf).

Robin can't bear to see him locked up, so brings him into her home. She doesn't really know what she is going to do with him exactly, except teach him to be human. After a point, a relationship develops. Other events going on at the same time, include a developing romance between her son and the daughter of her best friend, and a divorce between her brother and his wife. Stephen develops a friendship with Robin's grandfather, an old man waiting to die in his decaying mansion. Things are complicated by Roy, Robin's ex-husband, who keeps thinking he can get Robin back.

It has been awhile since I have read a romantic story and I particularly enjoyed this one because it told about the other factors that interfered with the romantic development. It wasn't mushy, or corny, or disgusting. It was straight forward, without a bunch of flowery language that often obscures the meaning. The character of Stephen is very well developed and explained; you can almost understand how he was able to survive in the wild. The character of Robin is less developed; I would have liked to know more about why her marriage failed and about her career. It would have helped me understand her motivations and feelings better. I rated the ending "average," only because it wasn't a big surprise. Overall, it was a good book. I will be looking for others by Alice Hoffman.