A Family of His Own

Rating:
Summary: Could they be a family?
Review: Kay Lovell was normally a strictly law-abiding citizen, but the tempting blackberries in a neighbor's neglected garden called to her. She took some of the berries and, feeling a bit guilty, came back the next day to replace the broken lock on the garden gate. While in the garden, a thin, haunted-looking Dominic Ravenscar spied her from a window in his house. Believing that Kay is really his dead wife, Sara, Dominic enters the garden and kisses Kay. Kay is shocked by the kiss; not only is she shocked that a stranger is kissing her, but she's more shocked that she is responding to the kiss - something she hasn't done in a long time.

Dominic Ravenscar is also shocked - shocked that he could have mistaken Kay Lovell for his beloved deceased wife. Sara has been gone for six years, and for six years Dominic has lived in a shadowy world, never pausing to fully grieve the loss of his wife. He believed that if he kept running, the pain wouldn't catch up with him. Six years of running, however, hadn't done him much good, and so he returned to his old home to sell it. He wants Kay's help in selling his home, but can Kay help him more than he imagines and heal his broken heart?

At first, I was really into this book. There was a mystery surrounding Kay and her daughter, Polly, which I thought could be quite interesting. I also loved the premise of the story with a dark, brooding hero. It almost reminded me of a gothic novel, and I like those once in a while. The more I read, though, the more boring the story became. The first half of the book was pretty good - Kay is determined to help Dominic overcome the ghosts of his past while she keeps her own secrets to herself - but after the 100 page mark, things went downhill fast. Kay became a rather weak heroine as time wore on, and Dominic went from miserable one day to completely healed over night. The timeline was pretty unrealistic after the first 100 pages, as well. There was a huge development in the story that was pretty much glossed over with just a few pages devoted to it, and a huge potential hindrance to the relationship went away without much discussion at all. The book was okay, but I won't be reading it again.

Rating:
Summary: Could they be a family?
Review: Kay Lovell was normally a strictly law-abiding citizen, but the tempting blackberries in a neighbor's neglected garden called to her. She took some of the berries and, feeling a bit guilty, came back the next day to replace the broken lock on the garden gate. While in the garden, a thin, haunted-looking Dominic Ravenscar spied her from a window in his house. Believing that Kay is really his dead wife, Sara, Dominic enters the garden and kisses Kay. Kay is shocked by the kiss; not only is she shocked that a stranger is kissing her, but she's more shocked that she is responding to the kiss - something she hasn't done in a long time.

Dominic Ravenscar is also shocked - shocked that he could have mistaken Kay Lovell for his beloved deceased wife. Sara has been gone for six years, and for six years Dominic has lived in a shadowy world, never pausing to fully grieve the loss of his wife. He believed that if he kept running, the pain wouldn't catch up with him. Six years of running, however, hadn't done him much good, and so he returned to his old home to sell it. He wants Kay's help in selling his home, but can Kay help him more than he imagines and heal his broken heart?

At first, I was really into this book. There was a mystery surrounding Kay and her daughter, Polly, which I thought could be quite interesting. I also loved the premise of the story with a dark, brooding hero. It almost reminded me of a gothic novel, and I like those once in a while. The more I read, though, the more boring the story became. The first half of the book was pretty good - Kay is determined to help Dominic overcome the ghosts of his past while she keeps her own secrets to herself - but after the 100 page mark, things went downhill fast. Kay became a rather weak heroine as time wore on, and Dominic went from miserable one day to completely healed over night. The timeline was pretty unrealistic after the first 100 pages, as well. There was a huge development in the story that was pretty much glossed over with just a few pages devoted to it, and a huge potential hindrance to the relationship went away without much discussion at all. The book was okay, but I won't be reading it again.