The Sweetest September-Liz Talley

The Sweetest September

Liz Talley

Harlequin SuperRomance, Aug 5 2014, $6.75

ISBN: 9780373608621

Shelby Mackey took The Road To Bayou Bridge to see her boyfriend Darby Dufrene who came home for a visit after years away in the Navy.  Instead of leaving with Darby, they learn to his shock and her chagrin he remains married to Renny Latioles who he wed before enlisting.  Upset to find Darby and Renny back together, Shelby has a one night stand with a stranger, widower John Beauchamp, before fleeing from the Bayou while her sack companion wallows in guilt and remorse for betraying his late wife Rebecca.

Three months after their only evening together, Shelby, knowing she is doing the right thing, once again takes The Road To Bayou Bridge to inform John she is carrying his baby; though she believes with 100 percent certainty he will decline participating in raising their child.  Instead he stuns her when John insists he will help raise their infant.  Even more astonishing to Shelby, his family (especially his preacher father) does not condemn her but also wants the child to know intimately his or her paternal roots.

The strong cast with their emotional poignant reactions especially towards the pregnancy makes this Home In Magnolia Bend entry a marvelous believable contemporary.  Filled with real people’s humor and angst, fans will appreciate this tale while wondering about the reaction of the kid when she is old enough to learn her conception occurred in a Bayou Bengals bar bathroom.

Harriet Klausner