"Engaging Contemporary Tale"

Sean McDermott and Lily Banyon have known each other all of their lives and have always tried to out shine each other. While growing up, Lily's mother thought Sean was perfect but treated her "A" student daughter terribly. Lily saw herself as an ugly duckling and envied Sean his perfection. Both secretly admired the other. When Lily went off to college to become a marine biologist, she did not want to return to the hurt her mother inflicted. They have been estranged for ten years. When she is asked to come home to Coral Beach, Florida, to study the coral reefs, she reluctantly takes the three-week assignment. Unknown to Lily, Sean is now the mayor of the seaside community.

Sean wants to keep tourism in Coral Beach but he also wants to keep the coral reefs in his part of the world in pristine condition. It is Lily and her team's job to photograph and take samples to see if the coral is healthy, supporting its ecosystem of plant and fish life in the region. Her team consists of young Karen who is learning the job of photographing the underwater sea life and John who is writing his dissertation on marine biology.

As soon as Sean and Lily see each other, they are back to insulting each other even though they are really hot for each other. Lily has grown into such a beautiful woman and Sean is as handsome as ever. Pete Ferrucci is a snake in the grass trying to feather his own nest with a condo development project and wants the study to come out positive. He approaches John by feeding his vanity and pocketbook hoping to get him squarely on his side to defeat the mayor.

Sean and Lily try to avoid each other but the attraction is too strong. They also have their grandmothers interested in getting the two together. The manipulations of the grandmothers are an amusing sidelight to the story.

Having enjoyed snorkeling in the beautiful waters off of the Florida Keys, I kept imagining the beautiful water and coral reefs and this made me enjoy the story all the more. It is obvious that the author has done her homework and knows a lot about coral reefs off of the Florida coast. The protagonists are both interesting and likeable. Sean reminds me of Charlie Brown from the Snoopy comics who would hit the little red haired girl with his French fries but only because he liked her. Sean would sling some insults at Lily when he really wants to hold her and care for her. Karen is a wonderful workmate and the grandmothers are best friends intent on getting their grandchildren together. All the secondary characters are good including Hal, the swim coach, Kaye, Lily's mother, and Dave, Sean's best friend. Then, of course, we have the smarmy bad guys that are trying to undermine all that the mayor and Lily are trying to do. It all comes together to make an engaging story. Laura Moore has written a page- turner with NIGHT SWIMMING.

Reviewed by Marilyn Heyman
Posted April 1, 2003

Reminiscent of Jude Deveraux's contemporary romances, Laura Moore writes deeply emotional and passionate stories and her third book, NIGHT SWIMMING, is no exception.

Summary

Returning to her hometown to study its coral reef, a renowned marine biologist is shocked to discover that the devastatingly handsome mayor in none other than her childhood nemesis, and that the sparks between them are still as hot as ever.

When college offered an escape, Lily fled her hometown of Coral Beach and never looked back. Now a marine biologist, she must return there on a job to preserve the reefs that give the town its name. But going back means dealing with her past, her family, and worst of all, Sean McDermott. As teens, while Lily passed through---an especially awkward phase, Sean-attractive and self-assured-was her constant tormentor. Lily doubts that things will have changed. But Lily's awkward phase is long over and though she finds that Sean still makes her blood boil, it's for very different reasons.

As mayor, Sean knows how important it is to maintain the town's natural beauty-and if the return of Lily Banyon is the price he has to pay, so be it. He can overlook her cold shoulder and give back as good as he gets. What's harder to disregard is the fact that Lily has grown into a smart and beautiful woman, as passionate about saving Coral Beach as she once was about leaving it. While working closely together, it becomes obvious to Sean that if he and Lily can put the past behind them, they could have a passionate future.