"Spotting a past love bites her right in the heart!"

That's the trouble with the past -- it hangs around to haunt you, then the minute your life seems to be OK, it jumps up and bites you! That's what happens to romance writer Laura one afternoon, when she spots a past love in a hotel lobby. Bites her right in the heart, as she remembers all the hot lovin' they shared long ago. But she has her share of baggage since she deserted Mitch (not that he isn't carrying a few duffels himself), and they both have a hard time adjusting to all the excess weight of their unresolved issues.

Laura has a teenage daughter on the brink of womanhood, faces a book deadline, and doesn't need the complication of a man in her life. Mitch has other ideas after seeing her again, and attempts to engineer a new romance, except that he lives in Arizona and has to travel to see her.

There are lots of problems to work out, and her life (past and present) is echoed in the life of her daughter as well as in the romance novel she must finish. The daughter provides the "what if your decisions at her age were different" scenario, and her book project provides the "What Romance Is About" soapbox. Both devices are fun and well integrated, and the story is reminiscent of the movie "Romancing the Stone".

On the whole, I liked the story because she seems to live a believable life with believable issues. The resolutions all are as they should be as well. No one is TSTL, even if Laura is slow on the uptake! Although she has all the trappings of being a success, not enough attention is given to how she got there; we know even less of Mitch's life. I didn't feel that I really knew what made either of them tick.

The sex scenes were well written, albeit too short for my taste -- a longer and slower time getting to the big O would have added that ever-desirable sexual tension. Good word choices, generally not run-of-the-mill descriptions of the encounters made them seem fresh and exciting. The memories of sex, both past and recent, provide 'sexperiences' in settings where actual sex would not be possible.

The problems Laura faces as a single, working mom seem real enough, though the relationship with the daughter seems a bit too easy. Mitch is devotedly interested in Laura, and is good about apologizing and disclosing. I found myself wishing that she had left some of the misunderstandings unresolved, so the reader would also be sympathetic to Laura's undue cautiousness. Otherwise, Laura is the only one that doesn't instantly see that Mr. Perfect Romance Hero will actually work out! (Which he does -- this is a romance, after all!)

The plotline of this book revolves not around Choices as much as around Decisions. Mitch charms and encourages, but she just can't make up her mind (and she wrote 19 books in 8 years?! -- how on earth did she manage?). Her only real choice is Alone vs. Mitch, but it's all those Tough Decisions That Need Making which keep this story moving along.

First Kiss -- pg 36 First Sex -- pg 61 Sex Acts -- standard sex scenes. Passion -- Moderate steam/tension. Short sessions. Professed love. Angst -- High on her part, Moderate on his part. Teenage daughter - none (?) Mystery -- None Adventure -- None Readability -- Good, solid, one-on-one romance of classic style.

Red Pencil Recommendations: Yes, it's romantic and jet-set (or whatever) to set a story in San Francisco, but if you don't live in the Bay Area, check your details with someone who DOES! Perhaps most readers won't notice/know, but the many jarring location errors spoiled the story for this resident.

Watch Out For Falling Dialogue: He: How are you? She: Fine, and you? He: Ditto. Ditto? DITTO??!! Real men don't say "Ditto".

Reviewed by Dana Dietrick
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted January 16, 2002