A Daughter's Story - Tara Taylor Quinn (HS #1811 - Oct 2012)

Series: It Happened in Comfort Cove (Book 2) 

You can't change the past but you can choose the future!
Twenty-five years ago… Emma Sanderson's life was completely overturned. Her baby sister was kidnapped, right there in Comfort Cove, and her family fell apart.

Now… Emma lives quietly, cautiously. Until suddenly she finds out that the cold case involving her sister's disappearance has been reopened. Then, she ends her engagement -- and meets another man. Chris Talbot shares her intense unexpected attraction, and their hours together mean more than anything she's ever experienced.

Despite that, she's uncertain about a relationship with him. He's a man in a dangerous profession, a man who makes his living from the sea, and there are reasons, good reasons, for Emma to keep her distance. But that night could have lasting consequences….

Good book.  Emma and her mother have been dealing with her sister's disappearance for twenty-five years.  Now that the case has been reopened she is dealing with feelings she's never had before.  She had a one-night stand with a man that brought her more pleasure than she'd ever had before.  But they're all wrong for each other and they try to stay apart.  I liked both Emma and Chris.  Emma has always played everything safe thanks to her mother's fears for her safety.  After finding her fiance in bed with another woman she does something completely out of character and sleeps with Chris.  Once she finds out that he's a lobsterman, a dangerous profession, she decides that she won't see him again.  When he gets in touch with her to make sure she isn't pregnant she finds herself wanting to spend time with him.  He also seems to understand her and helps her deal with the reopening of her sister's case.  He is also very protective of her when she is stalked by her ex-fiance.  I liked the way that she is independent and makes the decision to make changes in her life.  She knows what she wants and is able to go after it.  I also liked the way that she made the effort to get in touch with Cal (from A Son's Tale - Tara Taylor Quinn (HS #1793 - July 2012)) and got to know her almost-brother again.  I really liked the ending when she told Chris her feelings.  I liked Chris.  He was obviously a sensitive guy as demonstrated by his piano playing.  He had a strong sense of honor making sure that Emma knew he wasn't a relationship kind of guy but not running from the idea that she might be pregnant.  He had issues with the idea of ever marrying because of the relationship between his parents and the way that his father's job seemed to cause the problems between them.  He didn't want to continue seeing Emma but he couldn't help himself.  When he found out about the danger she was in he felt that he had to be there to protect her.  I really liked the way that he went to her at the end and explained his feelings to her.  Overall I liked the book, but found it a bit odd that they spent little time together in the first half of the book, and that time was spent mostly talking about how wrong they were for each other.  It did show the problems they needed to overcome for their happy ending.
 

A Son's Tale - Tara Taylor Quinn (HS #1793 - July 2012)

Series: It Happened in Comfort Cove (Book 1) 

Twenty-five years ago…a mysterious crime was committed in Comfort Cove, Massachusetts. Frank Whittier was accused—but never charged. And it ruined his life. 

Now…Cal Whittier, Frank's son, is determined to protect him, to safeguard his father's identity. After years on the run, they finally have their lives on an even keel, with Cal teaching at a college in Tennessee. Two things could change all that.

First, a cop in Comfort Cove starts looking into the case again. And second, Cal gets involved with single mother Morgan Lowen. He has plenty of reasons to avoid her—not the least of which is that she's an adult student in one of his classes. And in Cal's situation, any relationship is risky. Still…it could be the best risk he's ever taken!  

Good book.  Cal and Frank are living in Tennessee, not doing anything to call attention to themselves.  Cal is a professor of English, and enjoys working with his students and guiding them when necessary.  Morgan is one of his students, a favorite as she always has good insights into the literature they read.  Toward the end of her last semester she left his class early in a panic.  After work he went to her house to see if everything was ok and found that he son was missing.  As his dad had been accused, but never charged, of kidnapping a child, Cal was very familiar with the stress she was under.  He stayed through the night to keep her company and keep her calm until her son was found the next day.  This brought them together in a new way, and they realized that they had been attracted to each other for awhile.  Over the next few weeks, as Morgan dealt with issues with her father, her son, and her past, he was there for her.  He was also dealing with questions from a cop delving into the cold case of the missing child, and trying to protect his dad.  Morgan accepted Cal's offer to spend some "man-time" with her son, and noticed a difference in his attitude.  When her son went missing again, and Cal and Frank were questioned, Morgan began to doubt her judgement.  I really enjoyed seeing Cal and how good he was with his students.  He also was fantastic with Morgan and her son.  His caring and empathy was terrific.  Morgan was a great mom, and did everything she could to give her son and safe and happy home.  Her ability to accept Cal's confidence in her helped with her issues with her father, and ended up creating a good life for all of them.  I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, and hopefully finding out what happened to the little girl.