Author: Kristina Woods
Publisher: Self-published
Year: 2016
Genre(s): Romance, modern fiction
Part of a Series: No
Rating:
Why I read it: Because Amazon recommended to buy it with Baker’s Dozen.
Summary: After overhearing a conversation between the babysitter and her boyfriend, Olivia Miller has questions about the father she never knew. Her mother, Lara, used a sperm donor to have her and so is unable to give her daughter a name. Erin, Lara’s friend and roommate, offers to help her find the man but Lara is still unsure. Erin’s son Charlie, though, has found the information and shares it with Olivia. Together, they skip school and go to Brooklyn to meet Olivia’s father—Logan Matthews. He is surprised to learn he has a daughter but is willing to have a relationship with her. When he and Lara meet face to face, they have an undeniable chemistry. How will this decision change everyone’s lives?
Review: This is a pretty good book. I had a few problems that I’ll talk about now just to get them out of the way. First, Woods needed a better editor. She overused commas and there were some wordings that needed to be changed. Maybe some words to be cut or something as a few passages felt wordy.
My only other complaint was that it could’ve used some more tension. There were situations that came close but then were just resolved easily. For example, when Lara learned that Logan had hid the fact he had turned down a promotion and prestigious project at work because it would mean moving away from her and Olivia. It seemed set up that she was going to be angry and fight with him…but then she decided it was a sweet gesture and didn’t do much.
There was some good tension. Like whenever Lara’s mother was involved. Their relationship is strained and it’s mostly her mother’s fault. She thinks she is better than most people and Lara fails to reach her standards. And she picks apart everything while trying to take credit for most of the things Lara and Olivia have accomplished. Lara’s confrontation with her in the book was cathartic even for the reader.
Now onto the characters…
I’ll start with Lara. She’s a strong and determined woman who is doing her best to raise her child alone. But she has her moments of vulnerability. She worries that she’s done a disservice to Olivia by raising her alone. She wonders if she’ll ever find love. She worries about her job and the hours she puts in at work. All normal questions that help round out her character. She and Logan have an immediate chemistry though she is hesitant to act on it. Which is understandable—she doesn’t want to risk her daughter’s relationship with him. But when she opens herself up to him, she finds a love and a happiness she’s never known.
Onto Logan. He’s a successful architect while raising his young son alone since his wife died. When Olivia comes into his life, he welcomes her and embraces her as his daughter immediately. He gets to know her and works with Lara to be a part of her life. He also feels drawn to Lara but resists, not sure if he’s ready for love again. But after spending time with her, he falls for her.
Their relationship is well crafted. One roots for them and can feel their chemistry. As I said, I wish there had been a bit more tension between them, but I liked what we got. They clicked and it didn’t feel forced.
We’ll finish with Olivia. She’s the reason the story gets started in the first place. She’s a smart and talented young girl who is also very shy. In fact, Charlie is the one who really gets her to go meet her father. But once she does, she bonds easily with Logan and Liam, her brother. Olivia does disappear for a good chunk of the story but she still manages to be a presence between her parents and it only helps with their romance. My only real quibble with her is that she reads as younger than ten…unlike Charlie. She came across more like seven or eight to me.
Bottom line: A good romance that could’ve used a bit more tweaking.
Sex: Yes.
Moonlight Musing
Have you ever thought about a missed connection?
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