Baby Love by Catherine Anderson
Series: Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan (# 1)
Release Date: November 28, 2006
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 420
Source: book purchased by the reviewer
Desperate and determined, Maggie Stanley grabs her small baby and runs into the snowy Idaho night. In her loneliest, blackest hour, she unexpectedly finds a warmth and comfort she has never known in the tender compassion of a handsome, down-and-out stranger. In Rafe Kendrick, Maggie recognizes a soul wounded like her own—though she knows she must never trust any man ever again.
Rafe is more than he seems—an enigmatic man of secrets who could give Maggie the moon, had he not vowed to spend his life alone. But sometimes love’s flames can transform a cold world into paradise—and a man who’s lost nearly everything, a woman who’s forgotten how to dream, and the helpless child who needs them both can become that most wondrous creation: a family.
Review: Oddly enough, I’ve read all of this series except for this one title. I’m not sure how I missed book number one. But I recently got a copy and knew it was time to finally read how it all started.
In chapter one, we’re immediately introduce to both Rafe and Maggie. Maggie is on the run with her newborn son and stumbles upon Rafe while hitching a ride on a boxcar. Rafe has been on the run trying to drown his sorrows and is drunk. But he’s aware enough to protect this stranger and her baby from the other men in the boxcar. And so it begins. Such an usual introduction, but what a story to tell their grandkids… assuming the romance works out as it should (*wink*).
As much as I liked the book, the characters were just a little too off for me to just love them. Maggie almost seemed too controllable and Rafe was just the man to do the controlling. There was a lot of pushing on Rafe’s end and Maggie just seems to give in most of the time, but a lot of it was picking and choosing battles, which everyone has to do.
Two things really stood out in this book and they’re both good and bad. First, Rafe falls hard and fast. I know it happens, but in my romances, I prefer that it is drawn out. I think what made this a little hard for me to really believe is that we’re told pretty much from page one that Rafe is mourning the deaths of his wife and kids and isn’t really coping with it well. And yet a couple paragraphs in, Rafe is enamored with Maggie and the baby and bending over backwards to help them. I guess I wanted to see more internal struggle with Rafe than I got.
The second one is hard to explain without spoilers. I’d figured out Maggie’s secret pretty early on, but it doesn’t really come out in the open until closer to the end of the book. It’s not an easy subject to write or read about, but Ms Anderson handled it pretty well. It was a powerful explanation of Maggie’s issues that had to be overcome… and in that aspect I was glad it was there. But in other ways, I almost wish Ms Anderson had found another way since this isn’t something I like to read about in my romances.
All that said, I really did enjoy this story. Ms Anderson is a master storyteller when it comes to broken people, whether mentally, spiritually or physically broken, finding hope, renewal, purpose and love. Was this my favorite story of Ms Anderson’s? No. But it was a nice start to a series that I just love and highly recommend.
