REVIEW: Love on the Rocks by Lorraine Nelson

Love on the Rocks

Love on the Rocks, Sweet Confection
The story begins at The Rocks in Hopewell Cape, NB.  Caroline Davis, our normally strong, independent and fun-loving heroine, is deeply distressed at having to ‘abandon’ her baby, but she has neither money nor home and is hiding from an abusive and obsessive ex-boyfriend. 

Our sexy hero, Anthony Jacobs, has sworn off women due to a previous relationship gone sour, but he finds the child, takes her home and arranges care for her.  Caroline applies and is hired as her own child’s nanny, but is fraught with tension at the possibility of being found out. 

The hero and heroine are attracted and the romance is going well until trouble arises in the form of her ex-boyfriend, who appears on the scene with custody papers in hand.  Caroline runs with the baby, certain that Anthony won’t want her when he discovers how she has deceived him. 

Anthony follows, wanting to get to the truth. Will that truth bring them closer together or tear them apart forever?

Excerpt

"Since you slaved away to prepare such a feast, I insist on doing the washing up."

"What? No beeper?" Caroline chided.

"Not tonight. Guess I was too tired to arrange a get-a-way. I'll have to do better tomorrow," Anthony said with a wink and a chuckle.

Picking up Charity, she shot back, saying, "That figures. Oh, well, I'll enjoy tonight's respite and take our little princess upstairs to get her cleaned up. What do you think of that, sweetheart?"

"Fine with me," Anthony answered unexpectedly, then must have caught himself because he turned back to look at them as Caroline erupted into laughter. "Uh, you weren't talking to me just then, were you?" he asked sheepishly.

"No, but you sure do look good in red," she quipped, giggling at his embarrassment as she went on her way.

Anthony could hear her giggles as she went up the back stairs. To his astonishment, he had truly enjoyed thinking she'd called him 'Sweetheart,' and it had seemed so natural, too.

Oh, boy! Am I ever in big trouble, he told himself as he realized he'd fallen head over heels for the woman. What am I going to do now? How do I find out if she feels the same without bringing on a sexual harassment suit? Why did she have to be Charity's nanny...an employee...and a darn good one at that! He didn't want to scare her into running away. Think, Anthony! Think! He knew he'd figure out something. He'd just have to play it by ear and take a chance when the opportunity arose. 

Sarah's Review:  

I need to thank the TBR Pile for their giveaway that featured this story.  I would not have found this story had it not been for them.  I would also like to thank Lorraine Nelson for the copy that she emailed me because of the giveaway.  

It took me a couple weeks since receiving this book to read it because I was leery due to the topic, domestic violence (DV).  However, I was pleasantly surprised!  Yes, DV hits a little too close to home, but I was able to read it with very little flashbacks to my own history.  For that, I am thankful.  Ms. Nelson did a very respectable job when taking on DV.

I am going to express what I loved about this story because I feel like I will give things away if I do it like I normally would.  

I loved that Sara was strong enough to leave the POS that abused her.  I love that she fought hard to protect herself and Charity, her daughter.  I love that Sara was careful about how she placed Charity in the cave and was watching to make sure her daughter was safe.  I didn't feel that Charity was in true danger and that Sara would have made sure of that!  I love that Sara was able to find a way to still be part of Charity's life, even though she had to lie about it.  I love that she was able to stay strong even when she was the most vulnerable.  

I love that Anthony stepped up when he could have passed Charity on to the foster care system.  I love that Anthony showed interest in Charity's safety from the beginning.  I loved that Anthony was able to keep the fact that he heard Sara say that she was Charity's momma through the baby monitor and not immediately take action. I wondered if Anthony knew subconsciously that Sara was Charity's mother.

While there were parts that were more heart-wrenching than others, I thought this story was well written and did not glorify DV in any manner.