Publisher: Avon
Date published: June 26, 2012
ISBN:
978-0-06-199713-6
Contemporary Romance
Paperback
Reviewed by Lynne
Obtained via publisher.
Lacy Lancaster, after suffering through a
painful divorce, moves to San Francisco.
Content to lay low for awhile, living alone with her beautiful Abyssinian
cat, Cleo, she spends her days working and minding her own business. However, her sexy neighbor, Jack Walker,
frequently intrudes into her peaceful life, arguing loudly and continually with
his girlfriend.
But it isn’t until Jack’s cat, Dog, also
invades her life that Lacy confronts her impossible neighbor with the news that
Dog has gotten her cat in the family way.
Furious, she informs him that he must take responsibility for half the
medical expenses, which, surprisingly, he doesn’t seem to mind doing.
Lacy is unaware that Jack has secretly
set his sights on her since she moved in next door and is actually glad for
this particular opening into her life.
She is also unaware that Jack has no girlfriend and that the woman he
continually argues with is really his sister.
As the two join forces to care for the
expectant cat, Lacey reluctantly begins to have feelings she had long thought
dead and soon experiences the tender joy of falling head over heels in
love...all over again.
FAMILY AFFAIR by Debbie
Macomber is a delightful story. Quick to
pull the reader in, it keeps one turning pages right until the end.
This was my first Macomber novel, and I
found myself pleasantly surprised, wondering how I had missed this talented
author for so long. I was familiar with
the name. I just hadn’t read any of her
work. Yet after reading FAMILY AFFAIR,
my interest is piqued, so I will definitely seek out more of Macomber’s work in
future.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading FAMILY
AFFAIR, although I was a bit disappointed that it ended so soon. But since this story was first published as a
novella in the Purrfect Love anthology over ten years ago, this was to
be expected.
It is easy to see why Macomber is so
popular. FAMILY AFFAIR is a
pleasant way to spend an afternoon. I
love the main characters, Jack and Lacey, who endeared themselves to me right
away. With the romance pretty much
centered around Dog and Cleo, it made for a great story. The minor characters, Mark and Sarah, Jack’s
sister, also added a lot of conflict to FAMILY AFFAIR. Yet it was nice to read the happy ending,
after all was said and done.
FAMILY AFFAIR was a different
sort of book from what I am used to.
Mainly because it contains Macomber’s selected novella, THE BET,
from Avon Books’ “Make Your Dreams Come True” writing contest. The winner of the contest, Darlene Panzera,
was given a golden ticket - a chance to be published alongside one of the most
important authors in modern literature, Debbie Macomber.
THE BET by Darlene Panzera is a pleasant
read. Fast-paced, with plenty of
conflict, the concept of THE BET is a thoroughly unique idea which makes
for a lot of fun. It is the story of a
CEO disguising himself as a local rancher and betting $10,000 that our heroine,
Jenny O’Brien, will marry him within 60 days.
Panzera is a definite, strong writing
talent. THE BET opens with a lot
of excitement, caused by a bunch of townsmen who are eager to win the
prize. Marriage to Jenny O’Brien, our
heroine, a beautiful young woman who would do pretty much anything to keep her
ranch, Windy Meadows, which is in financial straights, except selling it to
money-hungry corporations out for their own gain. One, in particular, N. L. C. Industries, that keeps hounding her
with offers to buy it.
Little does Jenny realize that the CEO of
N. L. C. is none other than the man her uncle recently hired against her
wishes, the new ranch hand, Nick Chandler.
Of course, Nick is only working the ranch in order to get closer to
Jenny so he can win THE BET and take possession of the ranch, for his
own purposes. But what neither Nick nor
Jenny expect is the special attraction they have for one another.
Panzera has created two great main
characters in THE BET, who are naturally at odds with one another. Yet there are a slew of great minor
characters as well, who add a lot of conflict and problems to THE BET before
Jenny and Nick finally admit to their feelings for one another. Adding Nick’s sister into the heart of things
helps move this story along and explains more of Nick’s reasons for wanting to
win THE BET, other than for business needs.
There is a lot of action in THE BET. When a fire threatens out of control to burn
down the ranch, Jenny finds it necessary to find another way to save what’s
left of Windy Meadows, entering a horse race, which offers a big pot of money
to the winner. This adventurous scene
will keep you on the edge of your seat as you root for Jenny to win the race.
With the pressure on for Jenny to free
herself from her financial problems, the pressure from THE BET made by
Nick to win her over within 60 days also keeps the excitement riveting, as the
reader wonders what will happen in the end.
Kudos to Ms. Panzera on THE BET. It is easy to see why this story won the Avon
Books’ contest and is well worth a read.
I give it four out of five stars.
FAMILY AFFAIR does not end
with THE BET. The end of this
book finishes with a taste of Debbie Macomber’s world: several brief chapters from several different
books available for anyone interested: A
SEASON OF ANGELS, THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS, TOUCHED BY ANGELS, MRS. MIRACLE,
MORNING COMES SOFTLY, ONE NIGHT, SOMEDAY SOON, and SOONER OR LATER.
This is an objective review and not an
endorsement of this book.
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