By Juliana Stone
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: April 2, 2013
It took a funeral to bring Cain Black back to Crystal Lake,
Michigan. He left ten years earlier to chase his dream of becoming a musician rather
than doing what the town expected their star quarterback to do and accepting a
full football scholarship to Michigan State University. Now Jesse Edwards, one of
the Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, is dead, killed in Afghanistan. His widow Raine,
his twin Jake, his parents, and his life-long friends Mackenzie Draper and Cain
are left to mourn him. Cain’s plan is to spend a couple of days in his hometown
and then fly back to L.A. Coming off a
grueling six-month tour with his band BlackRock as the opening act for Grind,
he needs time to unwind and come to terms with all the changes in his life—the
buzz that is propelling him to the success he’s dreamed of, the firing of
BlackRock’s drummer and Cain’s co-songwriter, and his divorce from a publicity-addicted
actress. But in Crystal Lake he runs head on into old memories and the new
woman in town, single mother Maggie O’Roarke. Maybe a summer in the old
hometown is just what he needs.
Maggie O’Roarke has found friends and a peaceful life for
herself and her young son Michael in Crystal Lake. She cleans houses to earn a
living for two of them and works on an illustrated children’s book when she can
find the time. Maggie is not immune to the good looks and charisma of Cain
Black, but she has no room in her life for the here today-gone tomorrow
relationship that is all rock star Cain can offer. And she’s determined that no
one in Crystal Lake will know anything about the life from which she escaped.
But Cain is more than a rock star; he’s also the man who has her remembering
that she’s a woman as well as a mother and has her son happy with all the male
bonding over fishing, football, and other guy stuff. He may just be
irresistible.
The Summer He Came
Home, the first book in Stone’s Bad Boys of Crystal Lake series, is an appealing addition to the small-town stories that are still prevalent in contemporary romance. Crystal Lake has its share of warm, welcoming folks along with a few jerks and bitches, and it is not isolated from the larger world. Cain and his fellow surviving bad boys are sexy, interesting men with a history that evokes smiles and tears. The way they reconnect seemed real and heartwarming. Maggie is a woman still discovering her own strength, and Michael is an endearing kid who acts like a little boy. Supporting characters such as Cain’s mother and Jesse’s widow add interest to the story.
Readers who approach this book looking for a rock star hero
may be disappointed since the focus is clearly on Cain in his hometown. His
career is background and plot element, but the reader sees almost nothing of
that part of his life. Maggie’s secret is one that any perceptive reader will
figure out early on. But predictability can be part of the charm of romance
fiction, and this is a well-written book with likeable characters who will have
readers rooting for their HEA.
Stone reveals just enough about the troubled Jake who has the double wounds of his war experience and his twin brother’s death to deal with and Mac who must confront his own demons of an abusive past and a fondness for the bottle to leave readers hungry for their stories. I confess that the sibling triangle trope in any variation is one that often has an ick factor too high for my taste, but some authors have written stories strong enough to overcome my instinctive recoil. I’m interested enough in Jake to give Stone a chance to persuade me she’s in that company, and so I’ll be reading The
Christmas He Loved Her, which releases October 1. I fell hard for Mac and
am eager for his story.
If you are a fan
of small-town romances or if you like your contemporary romance with a nice
balance of sweet and sizzle, I recommend The
Summer He Came Home. I predict you too will enjoy Cain and Maggie’s story.
Bad boy heroes
seem to be popular in 2013 contemporary romance releases. Who is your favorite
bad boy hero?
4 comments:
Janga, this book sounds interesting. My favorite bad boy hero is probably Han Solo. In romance, the Marquis of Alverstoke, from Frederica, would be at the top of the list, though his exploits are tame compared to those of more modern heroes.
I agree with Nancy that this book sounds interesting. Though I have so many on my TBR now that it needs to be irresistible, like Catherine Anderson's 'Perfect Timing' (just read it ... one of her best!) to get on the list. LOL
I'm not sure that I often register 'Bad Boys' as such in my reading. It is after all a male characteristic to have some 'wicked' traits while being gallant and chivalrous at heart.LOL
Maybe some of the men in Elizabeth Lowell's 'Only' series might count. Or going back to 'Those Old Shades' by Georgette Heyer, perhaps Justin would also count? They are all favorites with me!
Nancy, I think Heyer created the pattern for the rake, the historical bad boy. Alverstoke is a great example, and Frederica is my #1 favorite Heyer. I long ago lost count of how many times I've read it.
Q, I think you measure all romances by Catherine Anderson and Lowell. LOL Perfect Timing is getting lots of good reviews.
Heyer's Avon is certainly a quintessential "bad boy." Damerel from Ventia is another favorite among Heyer's rakes.
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