YOUR HOUSE OR MINE?

Author: Cynthia Thomas ISBN: 0373712685 4/2005 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: HARLEQUIN/Superromance

Home is where the heart is... The quirky Victorian may be old and dilapidated, but it's the house at the center of the dreams Meg Hamilton has for herself and her little boy. And it's rightfully hers, thanks to the deed Aunt Amelia signed four years ago. So when Meg arrives in Mount Esther, she's shocked to find it's been sold - to the town's very arresting deputy sheriff. Wade Murdock bought Amelia's house fair and square. His wife's tragic death ripped his family apart, and this house is where he hopes they'll build their future. One house, two families. Only one of them can have it.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The best thing about this story is that it features everyday people with everyday problems, who have to deal with life and make adjustments the same as you or I do. Its modern day theme has something that everyone can relate to in some form or another.

Both Meg and Wade are single parents, dealing with the issues of starting new lives, raising their one-parent kids and making a living the best way they know how. Both have been through traumatic experiences: Meg, the desertion of her husband which she seems to have more-or-less put behind her, and Wade, whose loss of his wife several years before he hasn't quite come to grips with. When a mix up involving Meg's ailing aunt Amelia gives them both what they think is ownership of Amelia's rambling Victorian home, the two must work together for the love of their families —and the house—until the mix up and legal ownership can be resolved.

Wade is one heck of a leading man, with just enough macho tempered with sensitivity and compassion, that it's easy for the reader to fall in love. Meg, practical but a bit hesitant in a lot of things, does seem to be a bit more advanced in dealing with single-parenting; her analytical and rational look at events and problems as they unfold say a lot about her character, though toward her relationships with men she still harbors some cautious hesitation. Their romance progresses slowly and tenderly over time, filled with shy flirtations and gentle prodding, all of which the reader will savor like chocolate.

Besides these wonderful two lead characters, YOUR HOUSE OR MINE? is filled with great secondary characters who all play integral parts in the story. Ms. Thomason has a way of fleshing out these characters, making them so down-to-earth and relatable to the reader, that it's easy to become absorbed in everything that goes on. Add in a subplot dealing with the auctioning of stolen goods, great dialogue, and kids who come across as exactly that—kids—and this more character-driven story ends up with just the right balance.

For me, YOUR HOUSE OR MINE? was an emotional and unexpected reading pleasure. I highly recommend it.

Nancy Davis