“You can get through to him. I know you can.”

Though he heard her words, Trent Marlowe knew he had to be dreaming. What were the odds that Laurel would just reappear after vanishing seven years before? She’d turned his heart to stone and he wanted to keep it that way. Then he learned the real reason for her visit.…

Laurel would regret leaving Trent until the day she died. She’d disappeared with a litany of secrets too shameful to confide in a man she’d never stopped loving. But now she desperately needed him to help her troubled young son. Yet how could she fight the desire Trent was reigniting? And the bittersweet yearning for a second chance?

I’ve always considered Harlequin Presents to kind of be my own personal form of crack. Half the time I don’t want anything to do with them, but that doesn’t seem to stop me from devouring them every month. But recently it seems I’ve formed a new addiction. I still read Presents every month, but more and more I find myself turning to these Special Editions. Does this mean I’m forming a new habit? Is it a better one? Were Presents a gateway drug? Are Special Editions less addictive? Am I on my way to recovery with these? Or falling deeper into a cycle of addiction?

Ehem.

This is the first book I’ve read in Marie Ferrarella‘s Kate’s Boys series, but I don’t think it will be the last. Trent and Laurel were a couple in college and seemed madly in love. But the day after Trent proposed – and Laurel refused – she disappeared. Now’s she back and in desperate need of his help with her son – who’s been traumatized by a car accident he was in with his father. Because of their past Trent is hesitant to help but Laurel and Cody, her son, are able to convince him.

I think the most interesting thing about this novel isn’t the rekindled relationship between Trent and Laurel, but the story of Cody and the way Laurel and Trent had to relate to him. Seeing the way Trent worked with Cody and how he reached out to him was what made this story for me.

Trent and Laurel definitely had chemistry, but I found Laurel’s reasons for leaving to be somewhat glossed over – and her reasons for staying away were somewhat contrived. Her love for Cody definitely came through, but I felt like something was missing there. I think perhaps because we didn’t get to “see” anything that happened prior to her going to Trent it seemed like she was really passive about him and his recovery. She hovered but didn’t seem to really..do anything. Again, I think this is only because we came into the story when she’s basically at the end of her rope. Still, it struck me wrong.

Trent was a wonderfully drawn character. It was obvious he cared deeply about the work he did. I think we got a much better sense of him as an overall character and in the end we just knew him better. He was really wonderful all the way around.

Overall Cody and Trent stole the show. The emotional journey they took while trying to heal Cody was wonderful. The relationship between Laurel and Trent worked for me, but Laurel fell somewhat flat.

3.5 out of 5

Reading order:

This book is available from Silhouette Special Edition. You can buy it here or here in e-format.