African Hearts

Title: AFRICAN HEARTS
Author: Laura O’Connell
Publisher: Even Before Publishing
April 2011
ISBN: 978-1-921633-28-7
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary romance

Gina Messina is stunned to get a letter from an African doctor, stating that her brother is dying of Aids and has requested her to go to Africa. The letter was sent four months earlier, but took the slow boat to Australia. Gina isn’t sure if her brother is still alive or not, but on the chance she is, she lets her boss know, and heads to Africa.

Doctor Kam Bonsu is the leader of a Gumboli village. He is deeply saddened by his best friend’s death, and now is hoping that Marco’s sister will come to take custody of his son, eight year old Justin. But Justin doesn’t want to go live with an unknown aunt in Australia, he wants to stay in Gumboli with Kam and with his friends.

When Gina arrives, she is stunned to learn of the change that has come over her brother’s life since she’d last seen him. She’s also surprised at the news that she has a nephew. But now she has a decision. Should she uproot Justin from all he’s ever known and return to her job in Australia, or stay in Africa and accept what can’t be changed.

AFRICAN HEARTS is a debut book by Ms. O’Connell and is a book that those interested in romances set in exotic locations will want to read. It is well researched, has believable characters and plot, and is exciting.

There are some incidents of telling, and places where it could be fleshed out more, but over all it is a great read. I enjoyed it. The downside is, this book is not readily available in America, but if you are interested, you can order it from http://www.evenbeforepublishing.com/ $19.95. 246 pages.