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Zoe York brings a heartfelt and extremely enjoyable new series to life with the first volume of her Kincaids of Pine Harbour trilogy, Reckless at Heart.
Ex-firefighter and current EMT Owen Kincaid lives with his teenage daughter, Becca, who has fallen pregnant by her boyfriend Hayden. Hayden has made it clear – multiple times – to Becca during their rocky relationship that his dream of NHL glory means more to him than her or any incipient baby, so eighteen-year-old Becca is stuck between a rock and a hard place, her plans for moving out of Owen’s house to attend college dashed. Owen sympathizes – after all, Becca was the result of a teenage pregnancy herself and he’s only thirty-seven – but he knows Hayden will not help and can only brace himself and try to help Becca cope.
Owen hires Kerry Humphrey as Becca’s midwife. New in town and looking for a fresh direction for her life, Kerry resents Owen’s hovering and micromanaging when it comes to her care of Becca. They fight, they become friends – and soon they become lovers. But Kerry wants kids while Owen is done with his childrearing years (and has taken measures to ensure that they will stay behind him), and in any case, Kerry can’t pursue a love affair with her patient’s dad – so what do they do now?
Reckless at Heart is a fine contemporary romance about the unexpected curveballs life can throw at you. It – and its main characters – are refreshingly likeable, and their romance moves at a gripping but realistic pace. Their differences are settled in a realistic manner, and they actually speak to one another like adults and without undue melodrama.
It’s sensual and sexy, too, and as warm and appealing as spending time with two friends, as Owen and Kerry try to find their grooves and settle into them. There’s an amusing subplot about Kerry having a crush on Ricky Martin as a teenager, and the grumpy Owen’s clash with Kerry’s brighter and lighter point of view is interesting.
I liked all of the secondary characters. Becca is a realistic teenager, and Hayden evolves from being a one-note immature teen dad stereotype. Their secondary romance is sweet. Rachel, Becca’s mother, is definitely an enjoyable part of the story as well. She’s gone on to create a secondary family with several small children with another man while remaining a firmly entrenched presence in Becca’s life. Although Rachel and Owen have a realistically prickly relationship, neither is demonized, and they always put Becca (and eventually her child’s) well-being first.
I loved Jenna, Kerry’s realistic best friend (you can read about her romance on York’s website), and the feeling of a small town, which the author captures with grace and ease.
Reckless at Heart is a sweet story with hot sex between grown-ups, and in this day and age sometimes that’s all a reader needs.
Buy it at: Amazon or shop at your local independent bookstore
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Grade: A-
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 26/09/20
Publication Date: 06/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier
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What IS that thing on the right that she is caressing? It looks like an alien stump, with a bottom.
That’s a shoulder and (tattooed) upper arm. Not the best cover, I agree…
As someone who’s suffered through multiple shoulder dislocations, that cover squicks me out!
I thought that was just the muscle at the top of the model’s arm being somewhat over-developed. Like the model on this cover whose arm/shoulder area is so super-sized it looks deformed.
https://www.amazon.com/Mating-Theory-Trust-Standalone-Novel-ebook/dp/B084VTLCXB/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=skye+warren+kindle+books&qid=1601137431&sprefix=skye+warren&sr=8-6
Ugh.
Oooh, I thought I was seeing things too!! Very odd cover.
I love Zoe York and I very much enjoyed this book. However, I do think it’s a richer reading experience if you’ve read the Pine Harbour series first (especially LOVE IN A SANDSTORM and LOVE ON THE EDGE OF REASON, which have a more direct line to the new Kinkaids series).
(For those who may be unaware, York also publishes “spicier” books under the name Ainsley Booth. I recommend her Frisky Beavers series of erotic romances about Canadian political figures, especially FULL MOUNTIE, which does the M/M/F bi-poly-ménage beautifully.)
I actually mentioned that fact in the first draft of my review!
And yep, a lot of the side-stories exist for free on her website; I rec people read them first!
Full Mountie? Heh heh. Love the pun in this case. One of my other favorite punny titles was From Beer to Eternity. Some jokey titles are cringeworthy, but some get it just right. It’s all a matter of taste…
And I must say, DiscoDollyDeb, you certainly keep a close eye on authors and their pen names. :)
I’m wondering if the hero had a vasectomy?
Yeah—he did. That’s part of the angst in the storyline.
OK, I don’t want any spoilers here but I do hope that issue isn’t “solved” in a way that allows him to get her pregnant. Vasectomy reversals are tricky, especially if a long time has passed since the procedure.
Sorry—perhaps you can put my earlier comment in a spoiler box.
I think it’s pretty clear from what Lisa says in the review that he’s had the snip :) So you’re okay (no spoilers).
Ugh, I hope that spoiler properly worked!
Looking good!