One Chance, One Moment

Book One - The Mandy Story

Romance - Contemporary
379 Pages
Reviewed on 09/01/2018
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Judith Ann Kohnen is a multi-award-winning author, as well as a passionate intuitive, counselor, mentor, and healing arts practitioner. Her debut novel One Chance, One Moment is the first book in her Mandy Story series, now a twelve-time winner since its first edition in 2014. Bubbling with emotional drama, humor, adventure and suspense, the Mandy story continues in Judith's recently published sequel – For the Love of Mandy – available now on Amazon at http://amzn.to/2DCEMnQ.

For seven years prior to the writing of One Chance, One Moment, the book’s main heroine was none other than the author herself, playing out a fantasy that kept entering her head every night while considering whether she should to go back to school and become a nurse or not. Indeed, years later, Judith did become a registered nurse to secure better income, but meanwhile, she decided to put her creative thoughts onto paper. Several months into writing - around chapter twelve – Judith’s story began to develop as an inspiration from the oldies hit song MANDY, recorded in 1975 by Manilow. From that point on, the manuscript became even more magical, developing a soul of its own.

Judith is currently working on her third novel, Whispering Hope - branching off from her first two novels with the story of Robbie, now a grown man. She lives on 40 acres in Chesterfield, Virginia with her husband where she writes, teaches, and has her own professional holistic arts center (http://chhac.com).

Contact - judithannkohnen@ gmail.com

    Book Review

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

One Chance, One Moment is a stunning opening entry in The Mandy Story series by Judith Ann Kohnen, a riveting contemporary romance with believable characters and a gripping plot. A series of unfortunate events has led the renowned singer, Garry Danzlo, to the point of wanting nothing but to live a life of solitude. Grief stricken by his father’s suicide and broken by an accident, he has no passion for life anymore. When his sister hires Amanda Fields to nurse him back to health, he is resolved to send her away as soon as he gets the chance. Amanda might just be seeing an opportunity to raise funds to adopt eight-year-old, wheelchair-bound Robbie, but she is catapulted onto a path she never could have envisioned, linked to Garry in a way she’d never experienced before, not even in her failed marriage.

I fell in love with Judith Ann Kohnen’s writing and her characters. Hardly ever does one find an author with the ability to recreate the sensations of the human heart with such clarity. The prose is crisp and the author writes with confidence, creating a powerful dramatic effect with the unique sentence structure, the perfect paragraph breaks, and the impeccable punctuation. Readers will immediately take a liking to the key characters in this story and will learn to enjoy the quirky moments and feel the exacting emotions. One Chance, One Moment had me gripped from the very first page and there wasn’t a moment it never had me absorbed. The story is well-fleshed out, and the author explores themes of love, passion, family, and work with great mastery. This is a page-turner in its genre.

Romuald Dzemo

One Chance, One Moment: Book One - The Mandy Story by Judith Ann Kohnen is a contemporary romance, a well-written story that has everything readers look for in the genre; balanced writing, a fascinating plot, and memorable characters. It is surprising that it is a debut novel because it scores successfully on many different levels. Garry Danzlo has won the admiration of many in the music industry as a singer, but he is losing everything. Unable to forgive himself for the suicide of his father, things get even worse when he meets with an accident that disrupts his life and career. All he wants is to be left alone, but his sister will have none of that, which is why she finds him the “perfect” nurse for rehabilitation. Garry is resolved to send the nurse away, but the bubbly Amanda Fields, a widow after a difficult marriage, becomes an intriguing enigma and he can’t send her away. It is interesting to discover how the bond develops between the two.

Here is a story that feels so real that the reader will be emotionally involved in it. I fell in love with Garry as a character from the start and for fans who love characters that are human and broken, and stories where characters evolve into something better, this novel will be a great treat. When we meet Garry, he is physically broken, but the inner journey he makes is incredible and readers will love it. Amanda has her brokenness as well, a woman who wants nothing but to adopt a child after a failed marriage, but she finds love in the most unexpected place. One Chance, One Moment: Book One - The Mandy Story is well-plotted and character development is excellent. Judith Ann Kohnen has created her unique signature in this spellbinding romance. You won’t be able to put it down once you start reading.