Far from Here by Nicole Baart

About the book:

Danica Greene has always hated flying, so it was almost laughable that the boy of her dreams was a pilot. She married him anyway and together, she and Etsell settled into a life where love really did seem to conquer all.

Danica is firmly rooted on the ground in Blackhawk, the small town in northern Iowa where they grew up, and the wide slashes of sky that stretch endlessly across the prairie seem more than enough for Etsell. But when the opportunity to spend three weeks in Alaska helping a pilot friend presents itself, Etsell accepts and their idyllic world is turned upside down. It’s his dream, he reveals, and Danica knows that she can’t stand in the way. Ell is on his last flight before heading home when his plane mysteriously vanishes shortly after takeoff, leaving Danica in a free fall. Etsell is gone, but what exactly does gone mean? Is she a widow? An abandoned wife? Or will Etsell find his way home to her?

Danica is forced to search for the truth in her marriage and treks to Alaska to grapple with the unanswerable questions about her husband’s mysterious disappearance. But when she learns that Ell wasn’t flying alone and that a woman is missing, too, the bits and pieces of the careful life that she had constructed for them in Iowa take to the wind. A story of love and loss, and ultimately starting over, Far From Here explores the dynamics of intimacy and the potentially devastating consequences of the little white lies we tell the ones we love.


My review of Far from Here:


Nicole Baart is an author whose books I have wanted to read for a long time now.  I actually have a few of her books, but I have not had the chance to read them yet.  But when the opportunity to review Far from Here came along, I jumped at the chance to review it because that way I have to read it.  Now that I have read it, I just have to ask this rhetorical question:  what’s with the bad language?  This book nearly ended up on the floor more than once because of that.  I feel that there is absolutely nothing good that can come from a book with that kind of language in it.  I have literally tossed books across the room for that reason alone, it’s just not entertaining, at all.

That said, the reason I stuck with this book is because it is very well written.  Dani is one of my least favorite characters from the many novels I have read in recent times.  That is saying a lot when you consider how many books I read.  Now, saying that is not a criticism.  I like being challenged as a reader (as long as it’s not a potty mouth challenging me), so an unlikeable character just adds a depth to a story that keeps me engaged.  Danica being the way she is just made me want to read more and find out how the story goes.  So, I held my nose through the foul language and just kept my mind open to the story.  I may not have cared much for certain aspects of the story, but overall, Far from Here is a very good book and superbly written.  The reader simply has to decide where they stand on the language issue to decide if he or she wants to dive into this book.




This book was provided for review by Howard Books.