Series: Coldwater Cove (Book 1)
Fighting legal battles eighty hours a week has left Raine
Cantrell burned out and empty. Although she once dreamed that success might
make the father who walked away without a backward glance take notice, the
high-powered big-city lawyer now finds herself feeling very alone. Then she
gets an urgent call from three kids in trouble in her Washington State
hometown, and suddenly Raine is returning to face unresolved feelings, unhealed
wounds -- and an unexpected desire.
Sheriff Jack O' Halloran, a man with a tragedy in his
past and a six-year-old daughter to raise alone, has three teens barricaded
inside a house and the media clamoring for a story. He isn't ready for Raine to
invade his territory -- or his thoughts. And Raine isn't ready for anyone to
touch her heart.
Unable to deny their attraction to each other, their
solution is adult, reasonable -- and totally foolish. They decide to have a
simple affair. But they are about to discover that love is rarely simple -- and
that lives can change forever in a single heartbeat.
Good book. Raine is a high-powered, workaholic lawyer. At
the beginning of the book, she has just won a big case, but instead of the
satisfaction she should feel, she just feels empty and beat up by the headaches
and indigestion that come with the job. In the middle of the celebration, Raine
receives a phone call from one of her grandmother's foster children. Her
grandmother is in the hospital, and the three girls are in trouble. Suddenly
she's on her way back to the small town to help the woman who was the only
stable factor in her life.
I admit I didn't like Raine much at the beginning. Her
satisfaction at winning the case, at the expense of the retirees who were
harmed by it, rubbed me the wrong way. I applauded her immediate response to
the call for help, but I didn't like the way she jumped to conclusions about
what was happening during the stand-off. I got a bit of satisfaction when she
arrived and found things were not what she expected, especially when it came to
the sheriff.
I liked Jack from the start. His handling of the
stand-off was well thought out. I'm glad he was the one in charge, because the
other law enforcement people who were there were a bit too gung-ho, especially
considering they were dealing with three young girls. He also won my heart when
he was shown taking care of his daughter's nano-pet at the same time. I loved
his even-keeled responses when Raine showed up and started throwing around
accusations and threats. Things got a bit more complicated when they also had
to deal with Raine's mother's antics.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Raine and Jack. The sparks between them were hot from the beginning, but both
tried to ignore them. Raine only plans to be in town for a few days, just long
enough to straighten things out before she heads back to New York. Jack is
still grieving the loss of his wife two years earlier, so he's not looking for
anything either. However, something about Raine stirs up things he hasn't felt
in a long time. As circumstances forced Raine to stay in Coldwater Cove longer
than she expected, she and Jack can no longer deny the attraction they feel. I
had to laugh when they decided that they could indulge in a nice, simple affair
because I could already see that they'd passed that point. Jack is already
falling for Raine as he gets to know the passionate woman underneath the tough façade.
I loved the way that he understood how the things in her past had made her need
to always be in control. Raine is a bit freaked out by the way that Jack gets
under her skin. She never expected to be so drawn to him and his daughter, and
tries to convince herself that it is just chemistry and proximity. There were
some terrific scenes of the two of them together, especially as Raine starts to
lose her city edges, and Jack brings out an unexpected softer side of her. I
enjoyed seeing their feelings grow and ached for them both as they tried to
figure out how they could make it work. I wasn't too surprised by the solution
they came up with and loved their big moment at the end. The epilogue was
terrific.
For Raine, being back in her hometown forces her to face
the demons of her past, mostly her relationship with her mother. Lilith is
quite the free spirit, and it was easy to see why the two butted heads for so
long. But with distance and maturity, and the help of three teenage girls,
Raine starts to see a different side of her mother. It's not a miraculous,
hearts and flowers kind of thing, but more like Raine being able to see that
she and Lilith had two very different views on their mother and child relationship
and Lilith recognizing that she had made mistakes but wanted to do better.
I also enjoyed the storyline with the three teenage
girls. Their actions at the beginning were a bit extreme, but they were
motivated by Ida and what she told them. The situation became more difficult
thanks to Ida's age, and then Lilith's actions at the court hearing. I liked
the fact that Raine was willing to step up and be the responsible adult to keep
the girls out of a more desperate situation. I especially liked Gwen's story
and the realistic portrayal of the issues surrounding teen pregnancy. I ached
for Gwen and her struggle to decide the best thing to do. Lilith's openness
about her past actions went a long way toward helping Gwen, as well as Raine. The
resolution was heart-wrenching and heartwarming, as everyone came together to
help Gwen make the choice that was right for her.
No comments:
Post a Comment