Pregnant Bride

Rating:
Summary: Strong passions -- Highly recommended
Review: Meggie Thorton's tumultuous life struggles against the flow of the morally judgmental town of Kane's Crossing. As a child, with her wild hair and gypsy skirts, Meggie had been nicknamed the town witch. Now an unwed mother who refuses to reveal the baby's paternity, Meggie defies the collective judgmental eyes. When Nick Cassidy enters her bakery looking for his childhood nemesis Chad Spencer, Meggie does not initially recognize her childhood friend.

As fourteen year old boy, Nick Cassidy was labeled a criminal and thrown out of town for bombing Chaney's drugstore. He hates to think of his childhood friend as Chad's castoff. Now a successful entrepreneur Nick returns to Kane's Crossing seeking to clear his name. Chad had set the bomb then accused Nick, and no one would believe the bad-boy foster child over the town's golden child. But the site of Meggie makes him long for the memory of summer rain and hidden caves rather than retribution. What better way to have both than to marry Meggie, who is pregnant with Chad's child?

Author Crystal Green pens a poignant tale of redemption and healing in THE PREGNANT BRIDE. Although the pacing is a bit uneven, the rich characterizations provide delightful reading. As Nick's bitterness gives way to softer emotions, the emotional complexities reveal a tangle of motivations. Meggie likewise needs the healing and acceptance Nick craves, uniting them and setting them crossways at the same time. In addition, the dash of whimsy provided by Meggie's baking skills, eat a baby cake and you are pregnant within a month, for example, adds a special taste to the brew. THE PREGNANT BRIDE comes recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful.
Review: Once again, Crystal Green took me on an emotional ride, leaving me satisfied, yet craving more from Kane's Crossing. Just wonderful.