Wonderful book. If you like your plots insipid and sweet look elsewhere, but if you like them hard-hitting and beautifully written then this is a keeper. The story is at times harrowing but the hero and the heroine are very exciting characters (and are free of all those stupid moments that populated romantic suspense) and I couldn't get enough of them. Deeply passionate and scorchingly sexy it is a book I will most certainly re-read. Del's stepfather beat and raped her for 2 months the summer that she was 16. Her arrogant mother knew about it but didn't care. Del ran away, got into drugs, and lived on the streets until a social worker straightened her out. She never returned home or spoke to any of her former friends. Twelve years later, she's working as a social worker, but she's coaxed into returning to her hometown for a reunion where she is reunited with her old flame Blake. Blake is now a cop, having gone through his own hell after he was diagnosed with cancer. He's healthy now and as in love with Del as ever, although he notices her wariness and realizes from her manner that she's been hurt in the past. Nevertheless, they fall back in love quickly, but have to contend with Del's demons and her evil parents who still live in the area.I like novels with abused heroines, but this was a pretty bad book. The author bit off way more than she could chew in a 150 page book. Neither Blake nor Del was a good character. We know what happened to Del because we're told, but I didn't truly see it in her personality. I also didn't see Blake as a cancer survivor. He was just a boring tough-guy cop with strong feelings for his old flame and a streak of machismo that got on my nerves. I also had issues with their relationship. Yes, Del was skittish and freaked out a few times. However, ultimately, she and Blake were passionate lovers within 3 or 4 days of her arrival, even though she'd never even managed to go on a date in the past 12 years. Sorry, I just can't believe that.I don't recommend this unless, like me, you LOVE the abused heroine plot-line. But in that case, read Comanche Heart first.
What do You think about Beautiful Girl (2008)?
A sad, heartbreaking story. Very well written
—klutzie
