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JUST DESSERTS
Barbara Bretton
Jove Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 978-0-515-14424-6
March 2008
Contemporary Romance
In this delicious new novel by a popular author
readers are introduced to Hayley Maitland Goldstein, a
baker in a small New Jersey town. Her specialty is
decorated cakes and she is good at her craft. Raising
her daughter as a single mom, she has a gambling,
unstable ex-husband who lives in Florida and is
painfully good at ignoring his daughter. IN spite of
this, Hayley has created a life for them in the
apartment above the bakery that is filled with laughter,
pets, and the usual family chaos.
Then, out of the blue, she is offered the chance to bake
a specialty cake for aging rock star, Tommy Stiles.
While suspicious of the two handsome men who come in to
order the cake, she also knows it could be the cake that
puts her bakery on the map while creating some fiscal
stability for her and 14 year old Lizzie, her daughter.
What Hayley doesn’t know is that Tommy Stiles, with his
many wives and his numerous children of all ages, is
actually her father. The product of a one night stand
when he was a teenager and her mother was a 40 year old
academic oceanographer, Hayley’s mother has never
revealed her father’s identity. Discovered during a
routine background check for his latest pre-nuptial
agreement, Tommy is stunned. He is also determined to
meet his first born child and support her, just as he
supports his other children and grandchildren. Tommy is
one of the good guys who cares about his ex-wives, his
kids, and those he counts as family.
This is an absolutely delightful book, with terrific
character development, a lovely romance between Tommy’s
attorney, Finn Rafferty, and Hayley, and lots of laugh
out loud moments. Lizzie is an especially endearing
adolescent. I found myself reading this novel late into
the night and laughing in a crowded airport. Fans of
Bretton will adore this latest offering that sends home
all the complexities of family and the meanings of
attachment. I loved this book!
Reviewed by Jeri Neal
Rating: 4 ½ |
