365 books in 365 days Challenge ... Book #307

 

The Return of Luke McGuire - Justine Davis
Silhouette Intimate Moments
Reprinted in Harlequin Showcase 2-in-1
Harlequin, 2011
ISBN: 9780373688258


My rating

From the back cover:

"Luke McGuire was everything shy Amelia Blair had been fascinated by as a girl but too terrified to go near. And now here she was, the only person in the whole town decent enough to give him the time of day, caring enough to stand up for him...brave enough to get close. 
Luke didn t need the town s nasty stares to know that Amelia was off-limits. But then, reformed or not, he d never been one to abide by the rules. He only hoped that the quiet beauty would fall for the man he had become instead of the one he used to be."


This is the second book in the Showcase 2-in-1, as above.

The hero Luke has been gone from his home town for eight years, and has no desire to ever go back. Having grown up as an unwanted child of a teenage mother, his unhappiness was reflected in his juvenile delinquent behaviour. However, when he gets a desperate letter from his younger brother David, whom is also getting the same emotionless treatment from their mother, he decides to go back to try and help. The heroine Amelia has also been trying to help David, especially to try and stop him from getting into trouble. When Luke arrives and meets Amelia, there is an immediate connection between them, and Luke soon realises she is the only one who will give him a chance, ignoring his childhood reputation. Their combined efforts to help David are not very successful, but as they spend time together they begin to fall for one another. The passion between them is fierce, but neither of them know if they can offer the other anything long term.

Again, unfortunately, I found this book rather boring. I really liked the plot idea, but boy was it dragged out. The relationship between the hero and heroine develops nicely, but I don't think there was enough focus on it to really make and impact, and they didn't actually spend a lot of time together. The small town attitude (i.e. once a bad seed, always a bad seed) is written very well, and definitely one of the most interesting parts of the book.

Overall, this isn't a bad book but, in my opinion, it could do with being a bit shorter!

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