The Other Side of Us

The Other Side of Us

By Sarah Mayberry

Publisher: Harlequin (Superromance)

Release Date: January 2, 2013

Musician and sound engineer Oliver Barrett considers himself a happily married man until one day he swaps cars with his wife and discovers that she is involved in an affair with an old boyfriend and has been since six months after she and Oliver married six years ago. Reeling from the mix of anger, grief, and humiliation resulting from the breakup of his marriage, Oliver distances himself physically from his problems by leaving Sydney for the beach house a thousand miles away that he and his older brother have inherited from an aunt. He hopes the time he plans to spend getting the house ready to sell will give him some much needed emotional distance from the events that changed his life.

Mackenzie Williams is a television producer recovering from an automobile accident that almost claimed her life. Mackenzie has retreated to her beach house, next door to the house of Oliver’s aunt, where she is going through the long and painful rehabilitation required by the multiple injuries she sustained. She pushes her body to its limits and sometimes beyond, determined to reach the point where she is able to return to the job that has become her life.

Oliver, a considerate neighbor, introduces himself to Mackenzie so that she won’t be concerned to see evidence of life in the house that has been vacant for a year, but her surliness convinces him that he should avoid her. Unfortunately for his intentions, Oliver’s schnauzer, Strudel, and Mackenzie’s dachshund, Mr. Smith, find each other far more congenial than do their owners. In fact, Mr. Smith turns into a regular escape artist in his pursuit of Strudel, a fact that exacerbates the conflict between the dog owners. It’s not until Oliver helps Mackenzie when her house is inundated by storm runoff that the two establish friendly relations. As they spend time together, the attraction between them grows, but they both have to deal with baggage from their pasts before they are ready to commit to a new life they can share.

Oliver is wonderful—smart and sexy and generous with a sense of humor and a love of music. Add to these qualities his love for his dog, his songwriting skills, and his chestnut red hair, and you have a near perfect hero in my opinion. I adored him from the start. Mackenzie was more difficult to like. While I found her tenacity and courage admirable, I was put off initially by her self-absorption and coldness. But I changed my mind about her gradually, and the ending where she took action rather than meekly accepting Oliver’s fear-motivated choices pushed her high on my list of favorite heroines.

Characters are always the most important element in my response to fiction, and Mayberry is among the very best at creating characters who become real and significant. The choices Oliver makes when he discovers his wife’s infidelity, for example, are choices I can see men I know making in his circumstances. I love that both the hero and heroine are adults who have lived long enough to have experienced life and that their experience includes but is not limited to sex. I love that this is a book about two people developing a relationship not about strangers who fall in lust at first sight and never seem to have anything in common other than desire. And the fact that Oliver and Mackenzie achieve their HEA only after effort on both their parts and that their HEA includes professional and personal success made me want to cheer loudly. Readers who define action in terms of explosions, literal and figurative, may not understand the appeal of Mayberry’s books, but if you read contemporary romance because you are interested in relationships with all their complexities, challenges, and rewards, I highly recommend this book. That’s my usual response to a Mayberry book.

"Autobuy" is a word we hear frequently in the romance reading community. Do you have auto-buy authors whose name on the cover is enough to persuade you that you must read the book?



CONTEST:


Harlequin Superromance is my favorite category imprint. A number of my autobuy authors write for this line. I was delighted when I learned that beginning in January 2012, the stories in this line would be longer and more complex. And the books I have read have more than fulfilled my expectations. I’ll follow today’s review with other January HSR reviews Wednesday Thursday.  On Thursday Friday, one randomly selected commenter will win her/his choice of the HSRs I review. (With apologies to international readers, this contest is open to U. S. residents only.)

A Hometown Boy

A Hometown Boy

By Janice Kay Johnson

Publisher: Harlequin (Superromance)

Release Date: January 2, 2013

David Owens and Acadia Henderson grew up as neighbors in the small town of Tucannon, Washington. Acadia had a crush on the older David, but at thirteen when her parents divorced, she moved to California with her mother. Except for one brief, magical summer, David became part of her past. Now they are both returning to Tucannon, but the Tucannon that awaits them is not the idyllic town they knew as children. It has become a scene from a nightmare, a horror so great that even David, a prosecutor, and Acadia, a trauma nurse, aren’t really prepared for it.

Robbie Owen, David’s older brother and a paranoid schizophrenic, has killed six of his neighbors and himself with guns stolen from his dead father’s gun safe. One of the victims is Charlie Henderson, Acadia’s mild-mannered, book-loving father. It is in these circumstances that Davis and Acadia meet again and are drawn together by their grief and regret, by their memories, and by an attraction that flourishes amid the tragedy and heartbreak that are the grim legacies of a few moments of terror.

David and Acadia are decent, intelligent, complex people. In addition to feelings of horror and loss, they are both struggling with guilt. David, the good son who never gave his parents a moment’s trouble, must face the resentment he felt over his parents’ immersion in his brother’s illness and the haunting questions of whether different choices could have prevented the horrific ending of his brother’s life. Acadia never fully forgave her father for not fighting to keep his family, and she is inundated with remorse over all the time she failed to spend with him and all the words she never said to him. It is easy to hope that somehow they can nurture the feelings they have for each other and find a way to build a life together despite the odds they face.

But this book is more than a romance. It is also the story of a town and its people caught in the aftermath of an unimaginable act. It is the story of the dead—a humorless grouch, an ex-marine who was heroic to the end, a kindly pharmacist who always had a smile for everyone and candy for kids—and the living—a mother broken by grief for the son she loved despite what his disease made of him and by the guilt that somehow she could have stopped him, the police officer who combines dedication and intelligence with compassion, the young mechanic coping with survivor’s guilt and the conviction that a hero died to save a coward like him. It is the story of how tragedy exposes the baseness and self-centeredness of some and the grace and great-heartedness of others. It is the story of the cost mental illness exacts from those who suffer with it, from their families, and ultimately from the social system so poorly prepared to deal with mental illness.

There will be readers who fault this book for being dark and anything but romantic. Others will find the book moving, haunting, and ultimately an affirmation of the transformative power of love in many forms. Janice Kay Johnson has long been one of my autobuy authors, and I was aware of her ability to weave unforgettable stories rich in their complexity and completeness. But even for so gifted a writer, A Hometown Boy is an extraordinary book, one that, in the wake of recent events, carries layers never expected by the author or the publisher. It is a reminder of all the stories that remain untold by the headlines in newspapers and magazines. This is one I can’t forget, and it should silence forever those who label category romance as inevitably lightweight and insubstantial.

I was unprepared for the story A Hometown Boy gave me. What was the last book that surprised you by being a larger, more important story than you expected?



CONTEST:

Harlequin Superromance is my favorite category imprint. A number of my auto-buy authors write for this line. I was delighted when I learned that beginning in January 2013, the stories in this line would be longer and more complex. And the books I have read have more than fulfilled my expectations. I’ll follow today’s review with other January HSR reviews tomorrow and Wednesday Thursday.  On Thursday Friday, one randomly selected commenter will win her/his choice of the HSRs I review. (With apologies to international readers, this contest is open to U. S. residents only.)

Short Takes: A Handful of Harlequin Holiday Reviews

 

Rescuing Christmas 
By Vicki Lewis Thompson, Catherine Mann, and Kathie DeNosky
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: October 30, 2012

This anthology includes three Christmas stories—“Holiday Haven” by Thompson, “Home for Christmas” by Mann, and “A Puppy for Will by DeNosky—linked by their connection to the Haven, a no-kill animal shelter and featuring one or more of the animals from the shelter. 

Thompson’s “Holiday Haven” introduces readers to the shelter and to Tansy Dexter, its director. Tansy loves her job and she’s passionate about finding the right home for the animals. She meets she’s cameraman Ben Rhodes when she’s on a local TV show to plug her holiday adopt-a-pet campaign. She thinks she’s found a kindred spirit when Ben volunteers to take pictures of the animals for the Haven’s web site, especially when a grumpy cat who is not a people person bonds with him. But Ben, whose childhood was a troubled one, has had his heart broken by the loss of a beloved pet long ago and has refused to have a pet since. Despite the chemistry between them, Tansy can’t imagine a relationship with someone who’s afraid to even love a pet. Can Ben find the courage to take a risk?

Mann’s “Home for Christmas” is a marriage-in-trouble tale that combines a returning soldier and a trio of adorable dogs. Shelby Dawson-Conrad knows that her marriage is over even if the legal formalities have yet to be completed. Infertility, miscarriages, and a husband who volunteered for combat duty rather than deal with the problems in his marriage have ended her dreams of happily ever after, but she’s still determined her husband Alex will not return home for Christmas with no one to greet him. Shelby, a volunteer at the Haven, has committed to transporting three dogs from the shelter to their new families in time for Christmas. She and Alex are both surprised when he agrees to go with her, dropping the animals with their new owners and joining Shelby’s father and step-mother for Christmas. Despite the presence of a cameraman, Alex and Shelby begin to communicate in a way they never have before. But is it in time to save their marriage?

DeNosky’s “A Puppy for Will” is a romantic comedy with some laugh-out-loud moments. Will Parker’s grandmother has convince the game designer to foster Harley, a five-month-old Saint Bernard and Bernese Mountain mixed breed puppy from the Haven, for the Christmas holidays. Harley is responsible for Will’s meeting Macie Fairbanks, a writer who has sworn off men since her former fiancé dumped her during the holidays a year ago. But Will is hot enough to melt Macie’s firm intentions, and Macie and Harley are claiming spaces in the heart that Will had marked “No Entrance.”

This anthology was one of my favorite Christmas reads. The animals are an addition guaranteed to win the hearts of pet lovers. The three couples are all appealing characters, and the authors create stories that have common ground but are distinctive in style and tone. I enjoyed all three stories and am especially pleased to have discovered DeNosky, a new-to-me writer whose backlist I will definitely check out.

A Snowglobe Christmas

By Linda Goodnight and Lissa Manley
Publisher: Harlequin (Love Inspired)
Release Date: November 1, 2012

This is a duet of Christmas stories set in a town called Snowglobe, Montana. In “Yuletide Homecoming” by Rita-winner Linda Goodnight, Amy Caldwell, with marketing degree and experience in Spokane in hand, has returned home prepared to gradually take over her mother’s gift shop. However, she had not counted on Rafe Westfield, her former fiancé, having returned to Snowglobe as well. Rafe broke Amy’s heart when he chose a career in the Marines over marriage to her. There’s no avoiding him. Friends, family, and church make sure the two are constantly being thrown together, and their insistence that the only thing linking them is their past fools no one.  But Amy’s fear of abandonment runs deep, with its roots in her father’s leaving when she was a child. Will her faith in God and her love for Rafe be enough to allow her to trust in their future together?

“A Family’s Christmas Wish” by Lissa Manley features single parents Sara Kincaid, owner of the Snowglobe Bed and Breakfast, and Owen Larsen, contractor. Both Sara, whose husband left her when she was eight months pregnant, and Owen, who was widowed a year ago, have three-year-old daughters. A friendship develops when they agree to exchange Owen’s completing some much needed repairs on the inn for Sara’s home cooking and babysitting services. As they spend time together, the children bond and Sara and Owen begin to fall in love. But can these two wounded people find a happy ending when Sara can’t leave Snowglobe and Owen is convinced God is leading him to another town?

The stories are linked by setting and theme, and they are both sweet stories in which the religious faith of the characters is central.  Character development is slight, and conflict is resolved quickly and simplistically. I didn’t dislike these stories, but I wanted them to have more substance. I’ve read other stories by Goodnight that I thought had more heft to them. These are like Christmas ornaments that look pretty but are too fragile to survive close examination.

A Cold Creek Noel 
By RaeAnne Thayne
Publisher: Harlequin (Special Edition)
Release Date: November 13, 2012

Caidy Bowman is the youngest of the four Bowman siblings whose parents were murdered in a home invasion a few days before Christmas eleven years ago. The murders changed Caidy’s life forever. She gave up her dream of becoming a veterinarian and settled for staying close to home on the family ranch, she stopped singing, and she lost the joy in Christmas.

Ben Caldwell, a widower, is the new vet in Pine Gulch, Idaho, having moved there from California in search of a more peaceful life for himself and his two young children. He hopes Idaho is far enough from his former in-laws to limit their influence over his children, especially his nine-year-old daughter who has adopted some of her grandmother’s less pleasant attitudes.

Caidy meets Ben when a bull gores one of the ranch dogs. After some initial misunderstanding, the two gain a respect for one another. By their second meeting, it’s clear that the chemistry between them is potentially explosive. But Ben still has issues concerning the diabetes-related death of his wife, and Caidy blames herself for her parents’ deaths. Both of them have to resolve their pasts before they are ready for a new life.  

This is the eleventh book in Thayne’s Cowboys of Cold Creek, a series that has yielded three earlier Christmas books with a fifth one, the story of the fourth Bowman sibling, scheduled for 2013. Although I prefer Thayne’s non-category books because I like a longer, more developed story, she has a gift for creating characters that I care about. I’ve read most of the Cold Creek books and found them engaging. This one is no exception. It’s a heartwarming story of two wounded people, two believable kids, a generous serving of extended family, and lots of dogs. Add the touches of Christmas, and it’s a satisfying holiday read.

The Spirit of Christmas  

By Liz Talley  
Publisher: Harlequin (Superromance)  
Release Date: November 27, 2012
 
Mary Paige Gentry may be late for a family Christmas party, but even so she can’t ignore the homeless tramp she discovers outside a convenience store. She intends to give him only a cup of coffee, but when she realizes he’s barefooted, she gives him the novelty Christmas socks she’s just purchased as a white-elephant gift for the party. Her giving spirit changes Mary Paige’s life because the tramp is actually Malcolm Henry, Jr., a post-transformation Scrooge who rewards her act of genuine selflessness with a check for two million and a request that she become the public face of Henry Department Stores’ Spirit of Christmas Campaign to make New Orleans aware of the true spirit of Christmas.
 
Brennan Henry is a younger, still unrepentant Scrooge. He loves his grandfather, but he hears that all the changes that have occurred in the old man since a heart attack six months ago, especially his determination to give away money, are signs that he’s had a stroke or is suffering from senility. He reluctantly goes along with his grandfather’s spirit of Christmas idea because the old man is still in charge after all and because he is persuaded the campaign will prove good for the bottom line, his major concern.
 
Mary Paige and Brennan are opposites in every way. They recognize their differences, they are convinced they are all wrong for each other, but there is an attraction between them that can’t be denied. Brennan is intrigued by Mary Paige and the kindness and empathy that are so much a part of who she is, but he’s a cynic when it comes to Christmas. It will take something out of the ordinary to persuade him that life is more that the satisfaction of seeing the dollars rolling in.
 
The elder Henry and his romance were my favorite part of the story. It’s a nice Christmas tale, but it’s predictable, another variation on a story often retold. Just in case you miss the parallels to Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, there are ample reminders such as this one:
 

 “Remember the children beneath the robes?”  

“Ignorance and Want,” Brennan said to himself, his mind clicking as he grasped the implications.”

“Don’t let them win.”

 
It’s a lesson that bears repeating, and it’s sweetly seasoned with romance. Not a bad choice for reading beside a Christmas tree with a cup of hot chocolate or a glass of wine.

 

Countdown to First Night (an anthology)
By Jillian Hart, Margaret Daly, and Brenda Minton
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: January 2, 2013

This holiday anthology celebrates New Year’s rather than Christmas. The three stories are set in Snow Falls, Colorado, as the town readies for First Night, its annual countdown to the New Year.

“Winter’s Heart” by Jillian Heart is the story of Shelby Craig, a young, down-on-her-luck widow who returns with her two children to Snow Falls. Her grandmother offers her sanctuary while Shelby searches for a new job that will allow her to support her small family. But an unexpected meeting with Ronan Winters, a friend from her childhood, leads not only to a new job but also to the possibility of a new life for the new year.

“Snowbound at New Year” by Ellie Summer features Ellie Summers, author of a series of children’s books who has come to Snow Falls to meet with her new illustrator. Brody Kincaid was recommended by her former illustrator with whom Ellie had enjoyed perfect understanding, but things aren’t going so well with the new guy. Ellie hopes a face-to-face meeting will improve their communication. Brody, a widower, has retreated with his twin daughters to an isolated home atop a mountain outside Snow Falls, convinced there is no room in his heart for anything other than his love for his children and his memories of his wife. That face-to-face meeting brings a connection neither author nor illustrator anticipates.

“A Kiss at Midnight” by Brenda Minton offers the tale of Jolie Goodwin and Jake Wild, natives of Snow Falls with a history between them. Jolie is the daughter of an alcoholic who stole from Jake. Jake is the son of shallow mother who almost destroyed his legacy from his father. They are both weighed down by their pasts and wary of trusting the feelings that spark between them.  And neither can forget the kiss they shared last New Year’s Eve? Do they dare go for a replay at the ball that is the culmination of First Night festivities?

These are all sweet second-chance stories with kids as secondary characters. They are conventional stories with no surprises, but they are heartwarming and the New Year’s connection makes them a bit different.

Are you still reading holiday stories? Or have you had you fill until 2013? 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!