A Change of Heart
Marianne ArkinsContemporary romance
Available from The Wild Rose Press
May 2008
| Jake Langley has retired from the rodeo circuit and returned to his home in Wyoming. He hasn’t been home in six years, but a lot more has changed than the fact that the family ranch is in need of some serious TLC. Six years ago he left suddenly after sleeping with the town beauty Casey, he never said goodbye to his best friend, her sister Emily. He now finds out that that last night produced a beautiful daughter that he never knew about and that his best friend is angry at him. Em has always loved Jake, but she was his buddy, like everyone else in town he only saw Casey.
The author of this story packed a lot of story into a small package and does it with great skill. The characters are very real, none of them too perfect or too evil. Em is jealous of her sister, and has some justification. Jake and Casey took each other’s virginity and Jake left town. Casey was pregnant. The sisters’ remaining parent had recently died after a long illness during which Em took care of everyone, now she has a pregnant sister and the father of the baby is nowhere around. I think she has a perfect right to be angry. The author does a good job of reintroducing the characters to each other and describing Jake’s reaction to the news that he is a father. He has a tough time getting through Em’s resentment and anger. Bode is also a great character who realizes just how great Emily really is. He seems to be the one person who recognizes Em’s beauty without having it pointed out to him, making him the smartest person in the story in my opinion. The author does a wonderful job of describing small tourist town life as well.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Maura Frankman |
