Category romances are often cursed with silly titles. This is the case with Marilyn Pappano’s touching story of the return of a prodigal daughter, Older, Wiser…Pregnant. Once you get past the dumb title, you’ll find a decent story with believable and touching characters.

Laurel Cameron is the oldest daughter in a large and loving family. When Laurel entered high school, she became the teenager from hell, rebelling at everyone and everything and causing her family pain and grief. Laurel broke every rule she could think of and ran around with all the bad boys in town including Beau Walker, who loved her even though she ended up hurting him deeply. One night, Laurel ran off with Buddy Jenkins, a really bad boy and her family hears nothing from her for five years.

When the story begins, Laurel has come to her senses and returned home. Her parents love her and forgive her, but her brothers and sisters are more wary. Laurel’s rebellion has hurt them deeply and they are not as inclined to forgive. Laurel’s sister Meg is especially bitter. Beau Walker has overcome his bad boy image and is a respected businessman – a contractor and restorer of old houses. Beau is working on a project to restore the old inn that Mr. and Mrs. Cameron own to its full glory. Both Laurel and Beau are still attracted to each other, but there are five years of bitterness and distrust that they have to get through – and Laurel is pregnant with Buddy Jenkin’s child.

This is not an action book. It is a study of the characters of Laurel Cameron and Beau Walker. I admired Beau, but at times, he was almost too perfect to be believed. Beau was abandoned by his mother and raised by his drunken abusive father. Mr. Walker is senile and in a nursing home and even though he made his son’s life a living hell, Beau has forgiven him and visits him regularly. Laurel is very realistic in her sorrow for the pain she caused her family and her bewilderment as to just why she rebelled as she did. Laurel and Meg’s estrangement is very well done and we truly understand Meg’s anger. Eventually, the sisters do reconcile in a scene that I thought was handled too abruptly.

This is Marilyn Pappano’s first book for Silhouette Special Editions. She has written many titles for the Silhouette Intimate Moments series and I can depend on her for a well-told story and some appealing characters. But I do have one question. Who thinks up these titles anyway?