ONE RECKLESS SUMMER

Author: Toni Blake ISBN: 9780061429897 6/2009 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: AVON

It's tough to play it cool on a sultry summer night . . . The perfect daughter. The perfect prom queen. The perfect wife. Jenny Tolliver's been the good girl all her life, and it's gotten her nowhere. Now that her marriage has been busted up by her cheating ex, she's decided it's time to regroup and rediscover herself. This summer she's headed back to her hometown of Destiny, Ohio, to the very lakeshore cottage where she grew up, to figure out what life holds in store for her next. She never dreamed the answer would be Mick Brody, Destiny's #1 hellraiser. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks (or in his case, the lake), and he's landed in hot water more times than he can count. He's exactly the kind of guy Jenny's always kept her distance from . . . but soon the good girl and the bad boy are caught in a raw heat that's out of control. Too bad Mick's got a secret that threatens to tear them apart and ruin Jenny's perfectly, passionately reckless summer . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

ONE RECKLESS SUMMER introduces readers to the people of Destiny, Ohio. It is a small town, a place where neighbors know each other and where there are virtually no secrets. When Jenny returns to her hometown, to the tiny lakeside cottage where she grew up, she hopes to get past the drama surrounding her failed marriage. Her ex-husband insists he was driven to cheat on her with one of Jenny colleagues because Jenny is too good. Even though he is her only sexual point of reference, Jenny doesn’t know how to be anything more than she is. That is, until she uncovers a secret on the far side of the lake, a secret that comes with both deep emotional issues as well as sexual adventures.

While I like the story, as well as the characters, I feel there were times when I truly had to suspend all belief. Jenny is supposedly “too good,” but when she meets a man in the dark woods they do more than I’d expect a “good” girl to do so quickly. Sex in the woods seems hot and fast, and the chemistry between Jenny and Mick is too hot for words, so I think readers will definitely enjoy this romantic thrill ride.

This is a good summer read, and is sure to entertain.

Kay James