Review: Johanna

Johanna
by Isabel L. Martens

Career driven Johanna MacDonald has fought long and hard to become an executive in conservative Larkspur Industries. When an impulsive weekend spent with a charming threadbare stranger leaves her pregnant she's prepared to do whatever she has to to protect her career.

She offers her weekend companion $10,000 for a marriage in name only. She's relieved when he accepts and stunned when he turns out to be a wealthy west coast businessman and the city's most eligible bachelor. Why would he consider such an arrangement? And why would he threaten both her career and her unborn child when she attempts to withdraw her offer?

After a long, hard day at work, Johanna decides to leave it all behind and enjoy Friday Harbor for a few days. On the ferry she meets a man named Luke, who looks poor and jobless, and they enjoy a night together. It is not until Johanna returns home that she learns of the surprise that Luke has left her with: she is pregnant. Working as an executive in a male dominant, morally strict company, she decides that she will offer Luke money (after all he is poor!) to marry her. She is once again surprised when she comes to realize that the Luke she had met was the not the real Luke. The real Luke is an entrepreneur running a million dollar company. But finding who Luke really is is not the real surprise. Will their relationship survive when Johanna finds out the deep dark secret that Luke and his family are hiding?

I really enjoyed reading this novel. The characters are very lively and filled with true emotions that non-fictional characters often feel. Furthermore, the relationship that develops between Johanna and Luke is something that can happen in real life. Usually, fiction is written with the idea that the strong male is the one who sweeps the female off her feet and offers her comfort and security. In this story, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that both Johanna and Luke need something from each other.

Luke, being male, is not portrayed as the dominant and strong one. He has his own weakness as well. However, the author has crafted a story where his weakness does not deduct from his masculinity but adds to it, to create a vulnerable yet charming character. Johanna also is not the weak and frail female and takes on a very strong role in the novel. Characters are also developed in rhythm with the story. Initially, Johanna is the female executive climbing the career ladder, enlarging her bank account and trying to carve a niche out for herself. Then, when she realizes she is pregnant and happen upon love, readers are given a chance to see her change and become more mature and soft. This is a must read for all fiction fans!



Reviewed by Jasmine