Pride’s Children: Purgatory by Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt

A flawless literary gem.

Andrew O’Connell is a rising star whose talent is equal only to his charm. Hot off the heels of a wildly successful film, he is one of Hollywood’s most desirable actors. The stage of a late-night talk show introduces him to Dr. Kary Ashe. Starting her career in medicine, she reinvented herself and has met with financial success as an author. But this seclusive woman does not relish the limelight. Kary struggles with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and her limitations take a back seat to nothing. Content with her private fortress home and fastidiously observed routine of rest, writing, support groups and more rest, getting wrapped up with a celebrity is way out of her comfort zone. But the heart is treacherous, especially when it comes to a handsome Irishman with an uncanny ability to rekindle feelings lost to a life of difficulties and heartbreak. And drama incarnate comes in the form of Bianca Doyle, a starlet with designs on expanding her resume. A cinematized New Hampshire town isn’t ready for the intensity of emotions that these three dynamic characters spark as their lives become entangled.

Pride’s Children: Purgatory is like a colorful van Gogh painting broken into a 10,000 piece puzzle, waiting to be assembled by eager readers looking for a captivating, contemporary story about love, regret, ambition and obsession. With the outside edges as a guide, this story looks like a straightforward love story with a glitzy backdrop. Closer examination, however, reveals a much more textured and soul-searching novel that serves as a poignant reminder that we are defined by our choices, and that those decisions tend to stay with us. The treatment of an enigmatic and life-altering disorder is honest and meaningful. Rather than a shiny, compact version that might minimize the encompassing nature of an illness, Ehrhardt makes every effort to give readers an unglamorous view of a debilitating health problem that influences every aspect of life. There is so much to love about this elegant and refined masterpiece, an intimate character study of three dynamic individuals who travel in the same circle for a short time, but whose stories and personalities couldn’t be more different. Mature and deliberate, Pride’s Children: Purgatory is a flawless literary gem that takes readers on a lengthy but worthwhile journey.

Amazon

Amazon