Alice At Heart
Deborah Smith
(Reviewer - Colleen Helme)
2002 BelleBooks
ISBN: 0967303524

Reclusive & wary orphaned Alice Riley has always known she was different.

“We are all bodies of water, guarding the mystery of our depths, but some of us have more to guard than others. I've never known quite who I am, but worse than that, I've never known quite what I am.” Thus begins the journey of self-discovery.

Associate Reviewer Colleen Helme writes:

Odd Alice has never known a moment when she felt she belonged. She was different: her hair grows at an alarming rate, she's a natural swimmer who can spend immeasurable time under water, and most telling of all, her toes have webbing between them. What does this make her? She grew up with her mother's family, raised by an aunt after her mother died two days after Alice's birth. All thirty-four of her years have been spent trying to stay invisible, condemning her to a life of loneliness.

It all changes the morning she saves the governor's daughter from certain drowning in the lake. The sudden publicity & notoriety focuses on her then unearths unknown relatives from her father's side of the family. Long unaware of her existence, her three half-sisters hurry to her side to claim her. With their arrival comes the shocking news of her heritage, along with dark secrets from the past.

Will this heritage be more than Alice can accept? Her inclusion into this family will not only bring back the past, it will affect the future of two families long professed to hate each other. In her efforts to heal the ugly wounds, she finds that sometimes truth is the hardest master of all.

Alice At Heart is a wonderfully written treasure of poetic prose & thought-provoking characters set on the southern seashores of Georgia. The myth of mermaids brings a delightful fantasy twist to this modern-day romance, & is deftly handled by talented author Deborah Smith. It is the first book in the Waterlilies Series & will leave readers eagerly looking forward to the next.

More from Deborah Smith:
Charming Grace
Mossy Creek
Sweet Hush & many more.
(01/02/05)

Colleen
2005©Colleen Helme
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I have been an avid reader “forever” & live in the Rocky Mountains with my husband & four children. In my spare time (when I'm not reading!) I do watercolor paintings, make music, & WRITE! My first fantasy novel, Child of the Flame was published in 2005.