‘Descent’ by Julie Cannon

Author: Pamela Bigelow

January 24, 2011

In Descent (Bold Strokes), Caroline Davis and Shannon Roberts are competitors for the world championship of the downhill mountain bike racing tour. They were lovers in high school until Caroline’s father caught them in the act.

For ten years, they didn’t see one another, Caroline was racing in the US while Shannon was on the European tour. Now they are competing in the grueling 10-race championship. Each knowing she would retire after the final race.

What they hadn’t been expecting was to realize that the feelings they’d had for one another in high school were still alive and well. The various venues of the tour, set on three continents, are the backstop for a story of enduring love.

If you are into bike racing, you’ll love this book. If you don’t know anything about bike racing, you’ll learn about this interesting sport. You’ll finish the book with a new respect for the sport and the women who participate in it.

Aside from several editorial gaffes that take the reader out of the story, the writing is repetitive and cliche-ridden. It is saved, though, by the race scenes, and it ends up being a good, fast read.

DESCENT
by Julie Cannon
Bold Strokes Books
Paperback, 9781602821606, 208pp.
August 2010