What's a middle-aged gal to do when she realizes her disappointing marriage is truly over? Well, her best friend just took off on a cruise out of cell phone range and her aunt-actually-mother just passed away so she's kinda on her own to figure it out. Vulnerable, it would seem. This is how Author Jane Kennedy Sutton hands us the tormented Barbie in the contemporary fiction novel The Ride. Whether you've got a strong feminist streak that wants to scream at Barbie each time she takes a risk or you identify a little too well with her worries, Sutton has created a character that forces emotion from you. Mix in an obnoxious husband that too many women in today's society know, an inheritance that we need to hide from said husband, and a seductive stranger who reeks of self-assurance, and Sutton has a recipe for a coming-of-age story for a woman who's already come-of-age once.

I definitely recommend The Ride, not just because the author and editors obviously took time in refining it technically, but also because the story moves at a brisk pace, keeping the reader engrossed in the plot as it takes its twists. I was thoroughly impressed with Sutton's style and enjoyed her first offering in contemporary fiction. Hopefully we won't have to wait long for another adventure!