The Golden Hour

0/5 ( ratings)

This is not a romance. This is not the story of boy meets girl, boy wins girl. The Golden Hour goes beyond erotica and romance. Instead, it is an exploration of how sex defines us, particularly in those first years of sexual burgeoning when it is intoxicating and empowering. Sarah’s life has been defined by the men in it. Now she must learn to define herself or forever live in the past. The Golden Hour is a story of the greatest love of all.

Malek and Sarah have a passionate and destructive relationship. When fate and stubborn pride separates them for good, they promise to meet twenty years later in that exact hour at their favorite restaurant in Nice. At age 42, Sarah waits at the little cafe for her first love to appear in the falling afternoon light. Will Malek be the same mysterious man he was? Will he still want her? Will he even come? Her imagination is overwhelming as she remembers their dark and fiery past, and dreads the secret she must finally reveal.

Heat For mature readers only. Contains explicit heterosexual encounters. The Golden Hour is a novella, approximately 106 print pages. This version is the second edition.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite  

"The Golden Hour" is a unique love story. Nineteen year old Sarah was a college freshman when her parents died. The young heiress mourned them for a year, isolating herself from friends. It was in her photograph class that she first noticed Malek. They fell madly in love with each other. He neglected to tell her they could have no future together as his parents would arrange a marriage for him. Mal couldn’t stay out of Sarah’s arms even though he had met his fiancée. Knowing he was hurting her he eventually insisted they part ways. Henry was there to comfort her. Eventually Sarah married Henry; however, she never forgot Mal. In 2005 Mal and Sarah met again at a restaurant. He asked her to meet him again in twenty years. Sarah waited at the restaurant imagining what she would say to him.

  The golden hour is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day, when a specific photographic effect is achieved due to the quality of the light. Kim McDougall is a talented writer. In only 119 pages she shared Sarah’s story. Sarah lacked self confidence in herself. I had little respect for Malek for he knew he was “not available” and yet he could not and would not stay away from Sarah. Did he love her, well, that is debatable? I am not sure I liked him. Henry was likable except that he loved Sarah too much. Just as she allowed Malek to harm her emotionally, Henry allowed Sarah to hurt him. Sarah's secret was rather surprising.   

In "The Golden Hour" Kim McDougall proves relationships are complicated. It was fascinating watching Sarah mature. It actually took her many years to finally become a self assured woman capable of finding her own self worth. Author, Kim McDougall shows her value as a writer in this tale. Short stories can be difficult to develop however, despite the length she managed to create characters with depth, create a plot that draws in readers and actually conveys a complete story, and vividly describes scenes that I could see in my mind. Not only did she accomplish all of that she also managed to convey the emotions the characters were feeling. I hope she will compile an anthology using this tale as her base.

Reviewed from 2nd Edition