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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fine second chance at love contemporary romance, November 19, 2006
This review is from: Christmas In Hawthorn Bay (Harlequin Super Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
Hawthorn Bay Mayor Nora Carson knows that the city council's plan to raze Killian mansion will bring home the last person she wants to see in the world, her high school sweetheart attorney Jack Killian. Her fear is not political or even progress vs. heritage debate; instead it has to do with her eleven years old son Colin, who has the eye and hair coloring of a Killian.
When Jack meets Colin, he realizes this kid shares his DNA though he assumes Nora is the mother from when they made love when he was drunk. However, Nora has a second secret she kept from Jack in which he is half right about Colin's parents. He is the father, but her late best friend Maggie is the biological mother instead of her because of a "death bed" promise made when she was nineteen and Maggie died giving birth. She fears if he learns the truth, he will take her to court in a custody battle and win taking beloved son from her. As he begins his inquisition, Jack realizes he still wants Nora and believes she needs him too, but something is keeping her from admitting her love for him.
This is a fine second chance at love contemporary romance that readers will enjoy though many will doubt that pediatrician Dr. Ethan Jacobs even out of his love for Maggie would allow what happened including especially his falsifying the birth record. If you can get past the opening scene in Maine, fans will enjoy a warm tale starring two people arguing yet still in love.
Harriet Klausner
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe it's just me..., December 18, 2006
This review is from: Christmas In Hawthorn Bay (Harlequin Super Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
Since the back cover blurb is already given on this page, I'll get straight to my review:
After reading the positive reviews on this page, I expected a good read. But I was unable to get even halfway through this book. There wasn't any big glaring problems, just a bunch of little things that annoyed me.
For instance, there is very little interaction between the hero and heroine for a long time in this book. While there are some references to their past relationship, the reader has to wait forever before they even exchange a word in the present. The characters need to set sparks off of one another. That's pretty difficult to do when they're not ever in the same room!
The whole secondary storyline about the hero coming back to town to try and save his family's home was interesting, but the whole plot about the missing gold that was supposedly buried on the property? It just didn't work for me. It felt a little contrived and over-the-top.
In short, I wanted to book to focus on the relationship, and the story seemed to do anything but. All of the other themes (missing gold, a long-lost son, the town's hatred of the hero and his whole family) all seemed to overpower the romance. You may enjoy this as contemporary fiction, but for a true romance, it doesn't quite make the grade.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great story, December 16, 2006
This review is from: Christmas In Hawthorn Bay (Harlequin Super Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
CHRISTMAS IN HAWTHORN BAY by Kathleen O'Brien
December 16, 2006
Amazon rating 4/5
"The Killians have had a bad reputation for generations, in the South Carolina lowlands. Jack Killian, a Kansas City lawyer, returns home after being away for twelve years. One reason he left South Carolina was the rumor that he had tried to kill Tom Dickson, who also happened to be the cousin of his onetime girlfriend, Nora Carson. He has no love left for Sweet Tides, the mansion that's been in the family for generations. His brother Sean has been living there, taking care of the property and visiting their grandfather Patrick in an assisted living home.
Nora is now the town mayor and has a son, Colin. The novel opens with a flashback to a nineteen-year old Nora, and her pregnant friend Maggie. They are on a boat with Maggie's doctor, Ethan, who's in love with her. Maggie, in one of her crazy moods, jumps off the boat. But when the three of them finally make it to shore, Maggie is bleeding to death. She makes Nora promise to raise her baby as her own. Nora does so, not letting anyone know the truth about Colin's parentage except for her own mother, and Ethan.
Twelve years later, Jack is back in town. He gets the shock of his life when he sees 11-year old Colin, who looks awfully like the Killians. Nora already suspected that Jack fathered Maggie's child, but has told no-one. Jack believes Nora is the mother, and can't believe she never told him the truth about his own son. Things get sticky, as Nora insists on keeping the truth to herself, but it gets harder keeping this secret when Colin is trying to figure out who his real father is, and Jack is on his list of candidates." - complete review at BookLoons - M. Lofton
I really enjoyed this story of the Killian family, cursed for generations because of a rumor of hidden gold that follows them from one generation to the next. The author did a good job integrating the history of the family with the modern day happenings between Nora, Jack, and the young boy Colin. Recommended.
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