Judith’s review of Pregnant by Morning by Kat Cantrell
One magical night in Venice brings two lost souls together–until a positive pregnancy test changes everything.
What was meant to be a one-night affair has turned into much more for Texas businessman Matthew Wheeler. Something about Evangeline, the mysterious woman he met at a masquerade ball, propels him from his self-imposed exile. He’s finally able to forget his tragic past and lose himself in this incredible woman.
But letting go has a price…
Evangeline’s pregnancy announcement brings reality to their Venetian villa. Are they ready to take their secret affair public? Or will their romance end with the morning light?
This is a light read and one that won’t take up a ton of time to enjoy. However, it is built on a foundation of hurt and loss so that both Evangeline and Matt are trying to heal from the loss of important elements in their life–the loss of a career in Evangeline’s case, and the loss of precious loved ones for Matt. Their meeting seemed to be providential for them both and their affair certainly distracted them from their grieving. Now a baby is on the way and both must make some important decisions about the direction their relationship and their lives will go. Most importantly, they must decide how they will parent this child–together or living distant lives from one another.
This short novel is the kind of book that is made for a restful evening at home. It’s not a complex story although there is no lack of pathos or deep feelings involved. It is a romance, after all. Yet it is disappointing in that these two seemed unable to move on with their lives. Admittedly they had serious issues–one’s loss of a promising career due to someone else’s mistake can engender some serious bitterness. Obviously Evangeline had legitimate reasons for feeling robbed of all that the future might hold. Matt had lost the people most dear to him–his wife and his father, the two people who resided at the center of his world. Yet these are the kinds of happenings we all hope will never happen to any of us, knowing that they will sometimes occur. All of us have the coping mechanisms within ourselves, and even in a fictional situation as in this novel, it saddens me when people get emotionally “stuck” and are unable to move on with their lives.
The one important response I had to this novel was that even in a so-called “lightweight” novel such as this, there is a deeper lesson to be learned. We all learn from the experience of others and perhaps we know people whose lives have been upended by death of loved ones or by accidents that have changed the course of one’s life. Perhaps I am the sort that finds these lessons or that I’m being too introspective. Yet I often continue to think on these issues after finishing the book and the story has reached its happy ending.
Sorry to be so somber, but I really found some deeper worth in this story. There have been reviewers who have not liked the book and others who have been over the top about it. I’m somewhere in the middle yet I found it worth reading and enjoyed it. I guess each reader will have to judge its worth for themselves. I hope you will read it and make that judgment.
I give it a rating of 3.5 out of 5
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This title is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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