"Sometimes absence does make the heart grow fonder."
Returning home after a summer job of councelor at a camp
for blind children, Wendy Thomas just wants to rest. As it
turns out, she ends up running errands. Felicia, Wendy's
mother, swears she can't even get dressed without her help.
This is good, to be needed, isn't it? Yet sometimes it is
just so overwhelming, for it seems that Wendy, even at just
18, has been a mother to her mother her whole life. As for
her father, well to Wendy he is the perfect man, until she
discovers some unpalatable truths. Steve, her brother, is
pretty perfect, also. Her best friend Jessie is another
needy person she cares for. However Paul Randell is someone
she's had a crush on for years... Twenty-on- year old Paul, Steve's friend, had always liked
Wendy -- in a big brotherly way. It seems like overnight,
though, Wendy has become all grown up. Even though Paul has
absolutely no plans on getting involved with a "nice" girl,
he finds he has no control over his feelings for Wendy.
Notwithstanding, Paul knows that Wendy is way too good for
the likes of him, son of a prostitute, father unknown. Now the battle begins, for Wendy has no plans on letting
Paul deny what they might have together. Paul refuses to
let Wendy throw her future away on him. He just wants to be
"friends". Wendy figures that's just another way of
brushing her off. Paul finds himself unable to do just
that, though. Still, love doesn't come easily for him --
and this makes it hard for those who love him, especially
Wendy. As for Wendy, she finds that even years apart do
not change her feelings for Paul. The number of characters introduced in the beginning of
RELUCTANT HEARTS can get confusing. Be warned, the hero
smokes. Still, I'm definitely a sucker for a hero who's a
cat lover, and the more I got to know this hero, the more I
liked him. I didn't care as much for the heroine. I did
find the youth of the hero and heroine to be disconcerting,
even though they were both quite mature and age as the
story progresses. The story tends to drag a bit, the
flashbacks to past conversations got wearying, and the
length of it is a tad formidable, but it was an interesting
read. The growth and development of the characters, the
disappointments, the sorrows, and trials they have to
overcome, made it an intriguing story. Still, I found it to
have more angst and sorrow in it that I could enjoy. Sensuality--R. Non-monogamous sex; heavy petting; crude
language; fairly non-descriptive sex. Secondary character:
Implied rape.
Reviewed by Flora Bell
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted March 13, 2003
|
