Marie Ferrarella

I love Marie Ferrarella, no matter what she does, but it kind of threw me for a loop when I read two of her books published within 2 years of each other with pretty much the same storyline. [b:Blessing In Disguise|1176435|Blessing In Disguise (Silhouette Special Edition, No 675)|Marie Ferrarella|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|2086386] is the other book. It was pure coincidence that I read these books almost back-to-back. Both stories have orphaned boys, perky women and men who had no real childhood and therefore don't know how to raise the aforementioned little boy. Fortunately, there are enough differences in the characters and stories to keep it from just being a repeat of the same book.… (more)

I love Marie Ferrarella, no matter what she does, but it kind of threw me for a loop when I read two of her books published within 2 years of each other with pretty much the same storyline. It was pure coincidence that I read these books almost back-to-back. Both stories have orphaned boys, perky women and men who had no real childhood and therefore don't know how to raise the aforementioned little boy. Fortunately, there are enough differences in the characters and stories to keep it from just being a repeat of the same book.[b:Family Matters|2081142|Family Matters (Silhouette Special Edition, No 832)|Marie Ferrarella|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|2086420] is the other book.… (more)

Good book about secrets and when not to keep them. Five years earlier, Riley's best friend, Breena, had a relationship with a visiting college student. Breena ended up pregnant but refused to tell the father because she didn't want him to feel obligated to marry her. Riley thought she was wrong but agreed to keep the secret when Breena insisted.

As the book opens, Breena is dying of cancer and asks Riley to contact Matt once she is gone so that Vikki will have another parent. Riley sends the letter, wondering what Matt's reaction will be. She carries a slight grudge against him, believing that he walked away from her friend and never gave her another thought. She would love to adopt Vikki and raise her as her own.

Matt is stunned when he receives Riley's letter. He has never forgotten Breena and tried for a year to contact her before giving up, thinking she didn't share his feelings. Matt's reaction to Riley's news about Breena's death and Vikki's existence was realistic. Disbelief, denial, and then cautious acceptance. His memories of his time with Breena showed that he genuinely cared for her, and I ached for him when she seemed to blow him off. I liked that he wanted to know the truth.

When Matt arrived in Forever, his first stop was at Miss Joan's diner. I loved his shock that she remembered him and took him to task for his actions. I liked that she listened to his side of the story. Matt got another shock when Riley showed up, and he had to deal with her hostility. A very emotional scene is when Riley takes him to see Breena's grave. I liked the effect it had on Riley and her attitude towards Matt.

I felt sorry for Matt. He's dealing with so many emotions as he comes to terms with Breena's death and his fatherhood. Being a father was not something that had been in his plans. I liked his first meeting with Vikki, who was only told he was a friend of her mother's. She's a sweet but precocious little girl (she speaks far more maturely than a typical four-year-old), and she takes to Matt immediately. I appreciated how he stepped up even though he felt overwhelmed.

Over the next few days, Riley finds ways to bring Matt and Vikki together to get to know each other. At the same time, she and Matt become closer. Neither expects the sparks of attraction that flare between them. Riley tries to ignore them because Matt had been her best friend's love, but the more time they spend together, the harder it is. Matt's growing feelings for Riley confuse him. How can he be so drawn to Riley while he's grieving for Breena? I loved the ending. Matt is sweet and awkward as he shares his feelings with Riley. I loved how caution warred with hope as she listened to him, with a terrific ending.

The secondary characters were great. I always love Miss Joan and her no-nonsense gruffness. Her scene with Matt was terrific. I loved Riley's family and their whole-hearted acceptance of Matt. Riley's grandfather and mother are very perceptive and play significant roles in bringing Matt and Vikki together, as well as Matt and Riley. The most important of the secondary characters is Vikki. I didn't find her entirely believable for her age, but I liked her anyway.… (more)

A good introduction to this series of Colton stories. We first meet Sean Colton, a detective with the NYPD and the oldest of the four Coltons (Sean, Cormac, Liam, and Eva), as he is working on a murder case. We immediately discover that he is a workaholic who, once he gets going on a case, will ignore everything else until he solves it. It has cost him two serious relationships, leading him to swear off them for good. He gets a call from the wife of the man who raised him and his siblings after their parents died, telling him that Humphrey appears to be missing. Sean calls in his siblings to help find out what has happened to him. One thing that comes to light is that if something happens to him, they are supposed to see real estate mogul Rockwell Roberts.

Next, we meet Orla Roberts, one of Rockwell's twin daughters. She is a bodyguard and a black belt self-defense trainer who is very independent and always has been. We see her reminiscing about her twin sister Aimee, who is just the opposite - a narcissist who believes that the world and their father owe her anything she wants. Aimee and her boyfriend were sentenced to prison for the crimes they committed but have recently escaped. Orla knows Aimee will come after her and their father and immediately heads for his apartment to protect him. Unfortunately, she is too late.

Orla and Sean encounter each other in the lobby of the apartment building and go up to the apartment together. There they discover the murdered man's body. Though initially suspicious of her, Sean quickly realizes that Orla could not have killed her father and listens to what she has to say about Aimee. He also stands up for her to his captain, who wants to arrest Orla. When Orla is nearly run down by a speeding car, Sean makes himself her protector. They also work together to track down Aimee and Joe, with Orla suggesting being bait to draw her out.

Neither Sean nor Orla expected the attraction that flared between them, and neither expected anything other than living in the moment. Both are surprised at the feelings that grow between them. But Orla is afraid of the pain that could come from risking her heart, so she pushes Sean away. It takes her a while to realize the mistake she made. On the other hand, Sean has finally found someone he's willing to commit to. I ached for him when Orla walked away from what they could have together and understood his cautiousness when she showed up to tell him she'd changed. I liked seeing them come together at the end and look forward to seeing more of them in later books.

The story's suspense was well done and focused mainly on the search for Aimee. I was invested in the story as Sean and Orla went back and forth on the best way to bring her to justice. As the story progressed, I felt like I was just waiting for Aimee to pop around some corner and start shooting. While the confrontation between Orla and Aimee was intense, it didn't go as I expected it to. In the end, the resolution felt anti-climactic after all of the buildup.

The search for Humphrey is mainly in the background during this book. With Sean involved in helping Orla, he has passed most of the investigative work to his siblings. I suspect this search will play out over several books, if not the entire series. I am curious about what is happening, and I will continue to read the series.… (more)