So, after a less than pleasant reading experience of Northanger Abbey, in which I never should have read the publisher’s note at the beginning as it ruined the plot of the novel for me and kept me from really sinking in to the narrative, at the end of last year (I couldn’t manage to get it finished and reviewed for CBR5, meaning I fell short of my revised goal, only 29/30) I decided that a quick read – a restart button – was in order.
Luckily for me, I received a Nook Glowlight for a Christmas present this year. I purchased a Nook original recipe over four years ago, and while I enjoyed the many positive qualities it possessed, I always felt that it was a slower read, so I was a little anxious about the Glowlight, but interested to see how the improved interface worked. And with a book on my to-read list on sale I jumped right in. The Glowlight is great and I zipped right along, reading Undeniably Yours in two sittings.
Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey is the second in a series of books based around the romantic adventures of the Kowalski family. Our leads this time around are youngest brother Kevin Kowalski former Boston cop and local sports bar owner and Beth Hansen, a young woman living a nomadic life picking up odd jobs and changing cities twice a year.
In a change from any other romance I’ve read, and I’ve read a few (but maybe not as many as Mrs. Julien) our characters hook up within the first few chapters and it looks as if it’s going to be a one night stand – except that Beth finds herself pregnant, the 2% fail rate of the condom has landed squarely with them. This is unprecedented in what I’ve read before. I don’t know another author who would have her characters end up pregnant after a one night stand, and then explore what happens when people who are attracted to each other spend the time getting to know each other and gradually fall in love.
It’s a well-paced novel, if slightly heavy on the first few months of Kevin and Beth’s relationship, but it’s hard to fault Ms. Stacey for that choice because so many moving pieces need to be organized to build the story from that point. We see the ups, the downs, and what the characters see in each other and how the pregnancy affects them. There’s an okay B plot with another romance between Paulie, Kevin’s best friend and assistant manager of the bar, and her former fiancé, but the character of Paulie is best used in the story as a friend to both Kevin and Beth.
I suggest this to you if you are in need of a light, happy read or really enjoy novels that explore various characters in the same family over several books. I know those are some of my favorite.
