Reviewer Comments: What do you do when you are in love with someone who won’t give you the time of day? How to do you convince her that she really is meant to spend the rest of her life with you when she avoids you at all costs? These are the questions that Alcee Jules (A.J.) Baptiste must answer. He knows that he wants to spend his life with Victoria (Vic) Bennett, but she wants nothing to do with love and even less to do with him. It is going to take all the scheming this man can do just to keep her in the state when she threatens to move to Atlanta, Georgia.
Vic has been burned by love in the past. Her ex-husband hurt her in such a way that she doesn’t think she can survive loving again. Then she meets A.J. and despite his chauvinistic male attitude, she is drawn towards him and his adopted twin daughters. Vic quits her job as a nursing administrator and decides to move to avoid contact with A.J. who seems to have infiltrated every part of her life. Then both she and A.J. are involved in a car accident that results in broken ribs and a mild concussion for A.J. Now Vic moves in with him to help him recover and provides A.J. with more time to convince her that they belong together.
Ms. Taylor-Jones incorporates not only the romantic aspect of the relationship between A.J. and Vic, but also brings in elements of suspense and family. Both A.J. and Vic are part of large families and their families are close which results in lots of interference and meddling by siblings and parents. The closeness of the families is important to the development of the story and having people whom A.J. and Vic can trust works in their favor as they move towards an understanding about their relationship and their future together. Ms. Taylor-Jones also uses her knowledge of the medical field to breathe life into her characters—A.J. is a pediatrician and founder of a free clinic and Vic works in nursing administration. Their professions help them to find common ground and to understand each other.
The story flows naturally and doesn’t seem forced. The elements all come together and although Ms. Taylor-Jones has written other books about the Baptiste family, this one provides all the background you need. The characters of A.J. and Vic are central to the story and the other books in the series just add color to the supporting cast. I appreciated the way in which Ms. Taylor-Jones ties together the ending of the story. She explains the car accident as well as everything else that happens as a result. I really enjoyed this story. I thought that the story line was unique. It is rare that a romance novel begins with one person madly in love with the other and both parties aware of the feelings and the courtship. Most of the time the romance evolves between two strangers or when one person is unaware of the other’s feelings. I liked this fresh look at romance. Trying to figure out whether or not Vic would succumb to A.J.’s advances and exactly how A.J. would convince Vic to take a chance on love with him kept me intrigued.
