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Libby Hopkins, Assistant District Attorney, gives her all to her work, partly to overcome a broken heart. When Cal Walters suddenly abandoned their relationship, she was stunned and devastated. Five years later, she now has other problems – she is being followed by a stalker. The threatening letters she receives increase in menace, and she dreads seeing their distinctive blue paper.
Cal Walters left Libby early in their relationship to marry a former girlfriend pregnant with his child. Later, when he comes to the aid of a woman being beaten, he loses control and batters her assailant. When Cal is sent to prison, his wife immediately divorces him. Upon his release, he asks Libby to marry him in order to rescue his daughter from his ex-wife. Ally, now four years old, is a victim of her mother's lifestyle of drugs, promiscuity, and neglect. Libby agrees, with the stipulation that theirs will be a hands-off, completely platonic relationship. But can she keep her attraction for Cal hidden?
Cornelison sustains tension and suspense, and her dialogue is believable. Her characters live with the consequences of poor decisions, whether their own or those of others. The love scenes are somewhat explicit. Alternating points of view allow the reader to see into the thoughts and emotions of each of the main characters – and the misunderstandings and false assumptions caused by their pasts. The themes of redemption, forgiveness, and second chances are woven throughout the book.
Reviewed by Marie DisBrow
for The Road to Romance
June 21, 2005
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