4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it, March 9, 2000
This review is from: The Dad Next Door (Love Inspired #71) (Mass Market Paperback)
"Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it" describes the theme of this offering in the Love Inspired line of inspirational romances.
Kate Graham, the plain-jane widow and mother of two elementary-age children, draws 12-year-old Raymond, son of "the dad next door," under her wing. Raymond suffers from the break-up of his parents' marriage at the instigation of his self-absorbed mother, and Kate resolves to give the sensitive boy some semblance of stability. Raymond's dashing dad, Ian McAllister, deeply appreciates Kate's assistance, since his job takes him out of town far more often than he likes. In typical male fashion, Ian has no clue that he has stolen Kate's heart.
Enter Raymond's mother, Marsha, and her new husband, who possesses "half the money on the planet," to contest the custody agreement that placed Raymond into his father's care. A child of a dysfunctional family himself, Ian recognizes his ex's manipulations and the risks she imposes upon his son's emotional well-being, and he vows not to let her win.
Oblivious to Ian's plight, Kate revamps her image to compete with the beautiful Marsha and attract Ian's notice. Much to Kate's surprise, Ian proposes, and she quickly agrees. But upon returning from their idyllic Hawaiian honeymoon, Kate learns that her husband tricked her into a marriage of convenience to block Marsha's counter-suit and protect the interests of his son. Kate must learn to deal with her heartbreak and help create a loving home for Raymond and her own children.
Only the drama of the custody battle kept me turning the pages, even though I knew that, by definition, Kate and Ian would live happily ever after. If you blink, you'll miss the romance elements altogether. However, I do applaud the author's subtle blending in of the inspirational elements to avoid being preachy.
If you like your romantic fiction extra-mild, with a super-sized order of adolescent pathos on the side, this book just might be for you.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Where's the romance???, August 26, 2011
This review is from: The Dad Next Door (Love Inspired #71) (Mass Market Paperback)
I must have missed it...as far as I know, the couple only kissed once, even though they were "married" for several months. Who knows if a baby was even a possibility since there was no mention of them even sharing a bed...Except during their Honeymoon. The night they returned and Kate was yelling at her jerk of a husband, she mentioned the fact that he made love to her knowing it was all a sham...I seriously doubt she gave him any satisfaction after that, but there's no mention what happened...
I was very disappointed!!! First of all, I didn't care for Ian too much in the first book...He didn't fire the housekeeper after his son told him she beat him...Shame on him! He continued to do his business trips, knowing his son was miserable...Then when this book started, they were friends, then all the sudden he was kissing her and asking her to marry him...blah blah blah...then it all happened so fast, even MY head was spinning. The worst part was Ian's admitting that he only married her to hang on to his kid...Kate had EVERY right to scream at him! What a class-A J-E-R-K!!!!!!!! After that, I couldn't show much respect for the guy...
Throughout the book, Ian seemed detached from everyone else. It seemed Kate was pretty much a single parent with three kids and a housekeeper...raising Ian's son, doing Ian's laundry, cooking Ian's meals...How did he treat her like a princess?????
The interesting part was the custody case. That's the ONLY reason this book got a three. Even the private school thing seemed a bit "thrown together..." I think I actually liked Chet a lot more than I liked Ian. Maybe Raymond would be better off living with Chet than his dad who made so many mistakes...
As for the romance...there wasn't even any kissing when he admitted his undying love for her, though I didn't really believe it...
Nope, the first book was much, much better. After being married so long, I didn't really expect much romance, yet it had more than this book when there should have been a lot!!!
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