Could someone clone Sean MacNeill and send him over? I think I am in love!

I have read and enjoyed all of Virginia Kantra’s books. One thing for sure, her heroes are some of the best in the business. They are strong and tender with a protective and nurturing streak and a deep committment to family – all traits that I love.

Rachel Fuller’s father had died when she was young and her mother took in an ever-changing series of live-in male companions whom Rachel thought of as “uncles.” Some of the uncles were nice, but just as Rachel formed an attachment to one of them – he would leave. Rachel longed for security and stability and thought she had found it in her marriage to Don, the owner of a car dealership. When Don killed himself unexpectedly, she found her comfortable castle had a foundation of sand.

Don was addicted to gambling and his death left Rachel deeply in debt. Debt she could have handled, but one of Don’s loans was from Carmine Bilotti, a “businessman” who had no tolerace for late payments. When Rachel missed a payment, Carmine sent his thuggish nephew Frank to reason with her. For Frank, actions spoke louder than words and he trashed Rachel’s home.

Rachel feared for her children’s safety, and decided to move away and go back to live with her mother. That way she could save money on rent and use every cent from her teaching job to pay off Bilotti. She did not expect to find a man in her mother’s home.

Sean MacNeill works construction and is renting Rachel’s mother’s garage for a place to live and store his woodworking tools. Sean is, at first glance, a footloose, love ’em and leave ’em wanderer but as we and Rachel get to know him we find out that first impressions are deceiving.

Sean is reluctant to get involved with a woman who has children. Ten years ago, he did get involved and got his heart broken for his pains. But Rachel’s children gravitate toward him and he and Rachel run into each other constantly. She can’t help but see the kind and gentle nature he hides behind a cocky exterior and when Frank Bilotti tracks her down – Sean becomes her life-line.

Sean MacNeill is a woman’s dream. He is handsome, with a wonderful sense of humor – I especially loved his habit of wearing t-shirts with funny phrases on them. Even though handsome heroes are almost a given in a romance – Sean is special because of his tender nature and how he yearns for commitment. A woman’s treachery left him wary, but he is never cruel nor does he blame all women because one hurt him in the past. I wish that some romance writers would take heed of this!

Rachel is not quite as successful a character. I understood her fear for her children, but she refused help for far too long. Even after she found out that Carmine Bilotti was not a member of a big organized crime family, but was only a small-time hoodlum she still refused to go to the authorities. And she kept referring to him as a “businessman.” This made her seem much too naive for a woman in her thirties.

Small quibbles aside, I enjoyed this book. Virginia Kantra is one of the best of the newer series romance writers and is now an automatic buy for me. She writes some of the best dialogue in series romances. It’s not overblown or artificial sounding and I can actually hear the characters talk in my head. And, as I mentioned earlier, her heroes are something special. After you read this book you will want to track down the others in the series and if you are anything like me, you will be watching for all of Virginia Kantra’s future books.