Book review: Dancing in the Shadows of Love

by Judy Croome

★★★★★

It never breaks. The haunting tone of this book, with its aura of simmering emotion, never breaks until the final word. Ten pages into the book, I was already flipping through it trying to find a picture of the author. Who writes like this? Who names their main character Lulu?

This is about three ordinary-but-extraordinary women and their struggle to ride the waves of life. It’s about love, betrayal, lust, trust, and learning to live again. So, yeah, it’s about God.

Dancing in the shadows of love. This one kept me uncomfortable the whole time, wishing the three of them would just step out of the shadows into the light. It’s not that the plot is terribly captivating, it’s just that the words are arranged so … artfully? Grippingly? Hauntingly? Now that I’m finished (and after a sleepless night) I confess Croome is a fascinating author, and I’m terrified of the day she hands me another book to review. I know I won’t be able to turn it down.

But what is her book doing on my religion blog? Well, the problem is, an explanation would also be a spoiler. Its value is spiritual, even if its religion is foreign. But don’t worry, her Spirit King and his mysterious representative will overlay nicely atop whatever beliefs you espouse, if you do just a little stretching here and there.

Note to Ms. Croome: Page 165 still holds me spellbound. And I’m a guy.