Title: Seen At Last
Author: J.T. Tierney
Publisher: Curtiss Street Press
ISBN: 979-8-9992306-5-2
Pages: 416
Genre: Romance; Women’sFiction
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Pacific Book Review
Grace goes through the motions every day of her so-called “perfect” life, being the ideal wife, mother, and therapist. Someone everyone can rely on. Someone everyone expects to handle all their problems. She has spent the last couple of decades becoming these roles to the point that she has forgotten who she is as a woman. But when she met Allie, everything changed. What started as a friendly dynamic with a colleague upstairs transitioned into something more. The closer the two women grow, the more Grace’s perfect life shatters. For the first time in her life, she’s forced to face what she truly desires. Now she has a choice to make regarding her future, and it could change everything about how she moves forward.
The story immediately dives into building the connection between Grace and Allie, setting up the attraction between them from the first page. Their relationship is a driving force of the story, pushing the drama, romance, and heart. The friendship between them shows the trust and support that blossoms into a genuine romantic connection. This balances the emotional journey Grace is experiencing, with her never getting a chance to be herself, which furthers the unhappiness she feels in her life. The writing is evident in this, with her feeling distant in her marriage and refraining from sharing anything about her day. Author J.T. Tierney steadily grows the attraction between Allie and Grace, deepening the romance with moments that show Grace feeling more alive compared to her relationship with her husband. While her dynamic with her husband is routine day-to-day, her relationship with Allie is filled with the excitement of new love.
The story is rooted in Grace’s journey of self-discovery, with her accepting who she is and what she wants, even if it means giving up the “perfect” life. The writing is honest in how it portrays her going through the motions and being withdrawn. You see her helping different patients throughout, with each one reflecting part of her journey. There’s Jessica, who is worried that it’s just ‘confusion,’ and then there’s Nicole, who is nervous about dating following her divorce. As their stories progress with her helping them, you see a similar situation or emotional struggle she’s facing. This is a clever way to make the most of each character, no matter how minor. It also reinforces the various themes that ground Grace’s story in emotional weight, such as the courage to find the woman she’s kept buried. The root of Grace’s journey is about being seen, seen for who she is, which makes the story not about coming out but about self-acceptance and the path to true happiness.
The “good-girl life” as Grace refers to it is this cookie-cutter ideal, married to a doctor with two kids and working as a therapist to give to the community. Tierney is honest about the struggles she faces as she works to break free from routine, even if it’s messy. This includes plenty of familial drama as she deals with the reality of her marriage, which has been on autopilot. This is seen through her two children, who are dealing with their own coming-of-age dramas and realistic reactions to their parents’ divorce. The characters are real and flawed, creating a story that feels authentic and will be familiar to many readers. The writing comes from the heart with real emotions and heart incorporated into every chapter.
A lovely discovery of self, love, acceptance, and the courage to face who you truly are, Seen At Last is a beautiful love story that is messy, real, sweet, and incredibly endearing.
