This Heart of Mine (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "THE DAY KEVIN TUCKER NEARLY KILLED HER, MOLLY SOMERVILLE swore off unrequited love forever..." (more)
Key Phrases: bunny lady, Kevin Tucker, Daphne Takes, Liam Jenner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ever since she was a teenager, children's book author Molly Somerville has been infatuated with handsome Kevin Tucker, quarterback for her sister's Chicago Stars football team. Unfortunately, Kevin doesn't know she's alive until one fateful weekend when they're marooned together at the family vacation cabin. When Molly gets carried away by her creative imagination and compromises Kevin, the results are disastrous and before the dust settles, Kevin's in trouble with his boss, Molly's in deep trouble with her emotions, and both of them are in danger of losing their hearts. Their journey to a happy ending is dicey, at best, and even if they can get past their outrageous and painful beginning, whether these two can lower their guards and let the other into their equally wary hearts is questionable.

Bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips makes her hardcover debut with this wonderful contemporary tale that features two familiar faces from prior novels as the hero and heroine. The characters are complicated, with difficult pasts that have shaped the adults they now are, and Phillips uses a deft touch in sketching their personal growth as they're tested with tragedy and bound together with love and a healthy dose of humor. As always, Phillips brings her delightful wit and a warm family setting to this novel that is sure to captivate readers. --Lois Faye Dyer --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran romance writer Phillips (First Lady; Lady Be Good, etc.) makes her hardcover debut with this consuming story of a star-crossed children's-book author and a football player. At 27, Molly Somerville is a struggling writer who eschews the inheritance left by her father, founder of the Chicago Stars NFL team, now owned by Molly's sister, Phoebe Calebow, and her husband, Dan, who act as Molly's surrogate parents. Creator of a series of Daphne the Bunny books, writer for a teen magazine and the perfect playmate for her nieces and nephew, Molly is still growing up--she even has a crush on Kevin Tucker, the handsome, reckless Stars quarterback. By coincidence, Molly and Kevin end up at the Calebow's vacation home... Don't be fooled by the dusty title, however; this one is pure up-to-the-minute entertainment. Agent, Steve Axelrod. (One-day laydown, Jan. 23) Forecast: Phillips is the only four-time recipient of Romance Writers of America's Favorite Book of the Year Award, and her most recent novel, the mass market First Lady, hit paperback bestseller lists. With a big and smart push from Morrow, including a nine-city author tour, this book stands to be that rarity: a bestseller on national hardcover lists by a first-time writer to those ranks. A Harper Audio and large-print edition will be issued simultaneously.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 420 pages
• Publisher: Avon; First Avon Books paperback printing edition (February 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380808080
• ISBN-13: 978-0380808083
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (138 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good entry in the Chicago Stars series, August 8, 2005

By	Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Molly Somerville is a children's book author. She has had an unrequited crush on Chicago Stars quarterback Kevin Tucker for ages. Of course, he doesn't know she is alive. When they both end up at the Calebow family cabin for a weekend alone, she acts on her crush by climbing into bed with him. He's so out of it that he doesn't know who it is until he wakes up, amid a broken condom. He thinks she's nothing more than a spoiled heiress. Feeling violated, he tosses her out. Kevin is forced by her brother in law (and GM of the Stars) to make an honest woman out of her. They begrudgingly go along with the scheme with plans for an annulment after the baby is born, unfortunately, tragedy strikes first. When Kevin discovers that she's been a shut in, he takes her with him to a campground he inherited from his deceased parents. It's not the stuffy old folks retreat he remembers from his childhood - it's now a B&B with cottages that cater to the family crowd, and it's there that Molly comes alive again, as she and Kevin's relationship takes a dramatic turn.

This is the fifth book in the Chicago Stars/Bonner Brothers series of books, and definitely one of her more bittersweet and tear inducing. Interspersed with passages from Molly's series of Daphne the Bunny/Benny the Badger books, it's so charming when Kevin discovers that many of Benny's antics coincide with incidents from his own past. And the jocks verses kids who were picked last in gym class softball game was hysterical.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More of the best from the best., September 15, 2001

By	mirope "mirope" (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: This Heart of Mine (Hardcover)

The best writer of contemporary romances proves that she is still at the top of her game in "This Little Heart of Mine." Susan Elizabeth Phillips plays matchmaker for two characters from some of her previous popular novels: Molly Somerville (Phoebe's little sister from "It Had to Be You") and Kevin Tucker (the Star's backup quarterback from "Nobody's Baby but Mine"). Molly is all grown up and is supporting herself as an author of children's books. Problem is, her personal life is non-existent. Kevin is now the Stars' superstar quarterback, but he hasn't allowed himself to have much of a life outside of football. Both are feeling restless and dissatisfied, and when they accidentally spend a weekend together, the results are disastrous. Kevin comes away thinking that Molly is a flat-out kook, and Molly is left emotionally battered. Thanks to some more unusual circumstances, they end up running a bed and breakfast Kevin has most unwillingly inherited. OK, so far this all sounds like nonsense, but trust me, Phillips makes it work. The characters are richly drawn and quite charming. Not only does SEP add a lot of humor (you will laugh out loud), but she also creates a wonderfully tender and sweet romance that manages to avoid being sappy and cloying. I was particularly impressed with the way she was able to intertwine Molly's children's books into the narrative without making them annoying distractions. If you only buy one contemporary romance this year, this should be the one.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its So Hard to Say Goodbye, March 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: This Heart of Mine (Hardcover)

This Heart of Mine lived up to all of my expectations for a SEP novel. Its hard to believe that we won't be meeting up with any other characters from the Chicago Stars. This book endeared me like all the rest. I loved Molly and Kevin's story and revisiting most of the families from some of her other books. It was great seeing that Dan & Phoebe had more children besides the twins. Both Molly and Kevin were believable characters. They each had insecurities that all of us have which keep us from accepting love without question. Its fascinating to watch their feelings mature as they work together on a neglected camp for senior adults. I also enjoyed the subplots surrounding Lilly and Liam, as well as the teenage newlyweds hired to work at the camp that couldn't keep their hands off each other long enough to get the work done. The way Molly wrote her childrens books around Nightingale Woods and the similarities between fact and fiction was the most fun for me, especially when Kevin realizes which character he is. If you've read any of Susan E. Phillip's books before, you won't be disappointed with this one.