Much later, after a couple of years of captivity in an enemy camp, Jake was forced, mentally, to take a break. He decided to find Mark and spend some time with them in their idyllic country home. When he got there, Nicolette answered the door holding a tiny baby; he assumed it was theirs. He received a shock when Nicolette told him that Mark had been killed in a car accident 6 months before. She invited him to stay for a while to rest. And, he found that the baby who looked so natural in her arms was the daughter of a friend!

Ms. Joanie MacNeill has written a winner! She took this poignant plot and wrote a beautiful, sentimental story about two people who have unfinished, mostly unexplored chemistry between them. Both are attracted but know that a future between them is out of the question. It really shows how important Mark was to both of them. As they spend time together, each shows signs of dealing with his death which, inevitably, brings them closer together.

December Heat refers to the setting of this story—Australia. It is summer there at Christmas. Ms. MacNeill intertwined the separate lives of both Nicolette and Jake and shows that, intellectually, there is no way the two lives can be merged, even if they were able to deal with their feelings for Mark. The journey toward saying good-bye to each other after a special period together is intense and emotional. Even though the end might be somewhat predictable, I guarantee that the path to that ending is touchingly effective and delivers that special “it” factor for which we all search. I recommend this book highly!

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet

Reviewer: Brenda Talley
January 15, 2007