Tuesday, October 6, 2015

If Not For A Bee - Carol Ross

If Not For A Bee
Carol Ross
Harlequin Heartwarming, Oct 1 2015, $6.50
ISBN: 9780373367436

In the bakery in Rankins, Alaska, thirteen year old Gareth Everett holds the specially made birthday cake when a bee lands on the box, panicking the teen.  His widow mom Janie rolls up a newspaper to swat the insect, but a beach bum interferes protecting the bumblebee.  Gareth drops the box.  She realizes the bee patrol protector is renowned scientist Dr. Aidan Hollings AKA as brother-in-law to her sister Emily (see Mountains Apart).  The baker Lilah cannot make a timely replacement because another of Janie’s four children Reagan is lactose intolerant.  Gareth watches mother and son walk away as if part of a funeral march.

Aidan uses the small town as his temporary home base while leading the state study of bumblebees.  However, he likes the feisty Janie the journalist and enjoys the enthusiasm of her two oldest sons (Gareth and Reagan) who still struggle with the death of their dad; though he admits he is not very comfortable with their two year old twin brothers.   As the two adults fall in love, she must overcome her doubts that a famous hunk would want a ready-made family of five; and he must overcome his doubts that a widow with four children would believe a globetrotting scientist would want a ready-made family in the middle of nowhere.

Deftly combining jocularity with anxiety, the latest Seasons of Alaska (see A Case for Forgiveness) contemporary is a delightful family drama romance in which the two oldest boys play significant roles in this love fest.  Readers will relish the tale of the matchmaking bumblebee as love thrives in Rankins, Alaska.


Harriet Klausner

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