The Baby's Bodyguard
Grade : C+

The Baby's Bodyguard is filled with romance novel clichés. We have the small town vs. the big city, a secret baby, a hero and heroine who can't communicate, and more. You all have read this a million times. I was expecting a pretty bad novel, but the characters redeemed the book and it ended as a slightly better than average read.

Casey Arnett came from a loving family who lived in a small town in Tennessee. Longing to spread her wings, she moved to Los Angeles and met and married Jack Arnett. They loved each other dearly, but they disagreed in a lot of areas, most importantly about having children. Casey longed for a child and Jack, who grew up in foster homes, was adamant that he did not want to have children.

Finally Casey left Jack, filed for divorce, and moved back to Tennessee. When she went back to Los Angeles to talk about finalizing the divorce, passion flared and Casey is now eight months pregnant. Since Jack was so adamant about not wanting children, she has not told him.

Casey owns and manages some rental property in her home town and lately she has been plagued with vandalism. One evening, someone sprays Casey with a hose and then runs off. Casey has had enough and she calls Jack, who owns a security company. He flies right in, and is shocked to discover that he will be a father. It's very clear that Casey and Jack still have strong feelings for each other, but how can he handle unwanted fatherhood? And of course, the vandal is still out there.

If you have read much series romance, The Baby's Bodyguard will be very familiar. However, although the storyline is full of predictable elements, the characters act with some originality. Just when I was thinking - "O.K., it's time for a Big Misunderstanding," they'd actually talk to each other. Or when I was predicting that it was time for Casey to do something stupid - she'd act sensibly. I was pleasantly surprised.

Jack and Casey both have problems communicating. Her family was close and loving and they never had problems because they were in accord with each other. Jack's father was an alcoholic abuser and his mother died of cancer when he was young. He spent most of his time in foster care and was always lonely. He can't communicate because he doesn't know how, and he fears intimacy. However, they do love each other and since this is a romance novel, love prevails at the end (although I thought it was very unrealistic).

The identity of the vandal was a big surprise. The author threw out several possible suspects, all of whom could have easily been the culprit. There's a few sub-plots, one especially involving a friend of Casey who went to California with her and became addicted to drugs. She is back in Tennessee and she and Casey have a painful past to patch up. This sub-plot got short shrift, as did the others.

I began The Baby's Bodyguard without high expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. It will never make my list of best series romances, but it I did spend a pleasant few hours reading it.

Reviewed by Ellen Micheletti
Grade : C+
Book Type: Series Romance

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : December 7, 2004

Publication Date: 2004/12

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Ellen Micheletti

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