Mature romance with a heart

books:


	• Just Desserts Barbara Bretton Jove, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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Fun as well as sweet

What happens when an aging rocker, Tommy Stiles, is getting ready to marry his young supermodel girlfriend, Willow, and during the prenuptial agreement finds out his has a 38 year old daughter? And this daughter, Hayley Goldstein has no idea who her father is; in fact, she thinks she is the product of a test tube pregnancy.

His lawyer, fellow band member and son of his deceased best friend. Finn Rafferty is meeting with Willow's lawyer when by fluke a birth certificate shows up naming Tommy Stiles as the father of a baby girl born. Two weeks later this birth certificate is changed to father unknown, so is Tommy the dad or not?

Strangely, Tommy Stiles is not your typical rocker. He loves and cares for all his kids...all 7 of them. He takes part in their lives and wants them around. He actually still gets along with his ex-wives. Tommy has a heart that is big enough to love them all and he is exited to find another child. Finn, being a typical lawyer, isn't quite so fast to accept that Hayley is really Tommy's daughter.
Hayley had no idea that any of this is going on. She's busy with her own life. Hayley is divorced and the mother of one extremely smart 14 year old daughter, Lizzie. Her ex is known for not hanging out with the best people and it wasn't unusual to have people how up looking for money. Hayley's thrilled that he is gone. To support herself and Lizzie, Hayley owns a bakery. It use to be her former father-in-law's but when he died, he gave Hayley 60% of the business. She is making her mark with her specialty cakes.

In order to check out Hayley, Finn decides to drive down to her bakery and order a special cake for an after party for a charity concert that Tommy is putting on. It seems simple enough but what really happens changes everyone's lives forever!

This was an interesting book. The basic story is a fun thought to start with. After all, who wouldn't want to find out that a parent is a rich rock star? Of course, what would follow is all the media and after math of that discovery. But what if you also get a bunch of family like younger siblings? And what if your ex is contacting your daughter for money? And what if your mother decides to come home unexpectly with a new man? Yes, there is a lot more going on than a simple father/daughter story.

The characters are very well developed. You can understand Hayley not wanting to do anything to upset Lizzie's world. After all, what single mother doesn't worry about introducing a man into their child's life? What if it doesn't work out? Finn isn't wanting to get involved with his employer's daughter. What kind of mess could that create? Tommy just wants to have a relationship with this new daughter but how to break the news to her without a lot of media fallout.

I also liked that even though the main characters were part of a rock band, you didn't get stereotypes. The drummer, Anton, has been caught reading romance novels in the back of the band's bus. Anton is also in marriage counseling with his wife of many years trying to save his marriage. His dream is to open a restaurant when the band finally retires. Tommy, while enjoying being and living as a rocker, will always put his family first. When his teenage sons get in trouble, he doesn't just send someone to take care of it, he goes to the police station himself and when they return home, his sons know that they are being punished as their dad leads them into his study. Finn summed it up best as the media circus started; just give them a few days and they will find something else to lead with. This band is well grounded in values and real life, not partying and dreams.

Even secondary characters were given depth. Readers learn why Jane Maitland changed her daughter's birth certificate to father unknown. Jane's motives for doing things are explained including why she decided to come home early. Tommy's mother even makes an appearance and you almost have to laugh at her horror of a new granddaughter that has a teenage daughter. And you can't forget Hayley's pet's....one of which has to have privacy to use its litter box and a parrot named Mr G who will talk your ear off.

This book was fun. There wasn't a lot of love (sex) scenes but there were a lot of scenes with love. You could see the love coming through as Lizzie is trying to deal with a father who only wants to use her. You can see the love coming through as Hayley is mentoring kids in the bakery. You can see the love come through as Tommy's teenage sons are teaching Lizzie how to play poker. Yep, lots of love without lots of sex!

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Just Fine

Barbara Bretton does adult romance very well - she has a knack for creating male/female characters that are fully-developed and leading independent lives, and then bringing them together and blending their families and circumstances. Just Desserts is the story of an adult romance between Hayley Goldstein and Finn Rafferty. Hayley manages a cake store in N.J. and Finn manages the career of Tommy Stiles, a famous rock musician. Tommy Stiles has umpteen children from numerous women and the discovery is soon made that Hayley may be his long-lost daughter. The story isn't very dramatic, but is about family and the problems and joys that come with them. I would actually say that the story was more about family than romance; Hayley had a lot to deal with concerning her daughter, Lizzie, her ex-husband, her mother and Tommy. Unfortunately, all the family stuff detracted from an otherwise great romantic thread. "Just Like Heaven," Bretton's book previous to this was significantly better, This was still enjoyable, but just not as romantic as I'd hoped.

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warm family drama

Kind hearted aging rock star Tommy Stiles has hired attorney Finn Rafferty to learn if Hayley Maitland Goldstein is his daughter as he wants to share his fortune with his offspring and his grandchildren. A birth certificate mentions him as her father, but a new one replaced that officially two weeks later stating father unknown. Tommy believes he sired Haley, who was born August 17, 1969 in Lexington, Kentucky to internationally acclaimed oceanographer Jane Maitland. He also knows Haley was married but divorced with one daughter Elizabeth and lives and co-owns Goldy's Bakery in Lakeside, New Jersey.

Finn leaves Manhattan for South Jersey knowing his client plans to inform his offspring at a time her mother decides to pay a visit. Having Jane insist on staying with them makes Haley suspicious that something earth shattering is coming, but she was unprepared for Tommy's claim that turned her world upside down; however, it is her reaction to Finn that sends her spinning out of control; he also loses his sense of gravity.

JUST DESSERTS is a warm family drama filled with tender humor. The amazement to the entertaining story line is the ensemble cast including two pets are fully developed and their interrelationships genuine. Fans will appreciate Barbara Bretton's invasion of South Jersey as everyone receives their JUST DESSERTS.

Harriet Klausner

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Mature romance with a heart

Baker Hayley is barely making ends meet. When Finn Rafferty, a slick and sexy lawyer comes in and offers her an obscene amount to bake a cake for a famous rock star, she is at first suspicious, but relents and lets her teenage daughter iron out the contract, hoping that this high profile assignment helps get the business in the black. What Hayley doesn't realize and that Finn is pretty sure of is that she is the long lost daughter of rock star Tommy Stiles. Her paternity was discovered during an investigation while ironing out a pre-nup with Tommy's latest love. Finn is falling hard for Hayley, and his guilt for keeping the secret is eating away at him, and threatens to destroy their new relationship. When the cat jumps out of the bag, will Hayley's life ever be normal again?

Bretton's latest is another charming story featuring a more mature romantic duo. As with all Bretton novels, there are several subplots including Tommy's upcoming marriage, Hayley's mother's health, and daughter Lizzie's quest for her unworthy father's love which takes a dent in her college fun. Comic relief is provided Hayley, who has the worst case of verbal diarrhea; Anton, the band member who wants to be a chef; and Tommy's egocentric mother who can't come to terms that she has a 38 year old granddaughter. Her writing is crisp, the dialogue is realistic, and Bretton never lets the primary focus off her lead couple.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Hayley Goldstein has been offered the chance of a lifetime: to bake a cake for a world-famous rock star. But she's shocked to discover that she's actually the aging rocker's long-lost daughter. With her world turned upside down, Hayley will need help letting down her guard and hanging onto the things that matter most. And the rocker's lawyer, Finn Rafferty, may just be the man for the job.