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DESTINED TO MEET - Devon Vaughn Archer Harlequin Kimani/Romance June 2008 |
SYNOPSIS: Homebody Courtney Hudson busts loose for one night and winds up in bed with Lloyd Vance, an Alaskan cop escaping a troubled past. Tragedy soon strikes, and both are caught in a twist of fate that threatens to destroy their burgeoning love
SERIES ROMANCE |4| Marguerite Lemons
REVIEW:
Courtney Hudson,
a widow and children’s books author, is encouraged by her cousin, Pilar, to
finally get out of the house and joins her at the new hot spot in town; however, Pilar is a no show. Lloyd Vance is a police detective who recently relocated to
Lake Barri from Alaska. He is mildly upset that his co-worker stood him up at
the last minute, until he looks across the room and sees Courtney seated at a
table alone. He approaches her, one thing leads to another, and they end up at
his place. Both are disappointed they have to end the night early when Lloyd
gets called into work to investigate a pedestrian hit and run. When they meet
again in the ER of the local hospital, they discover that the victim, Pilar, has
died. Courtney and Lloyd suddenly realize they both had something in common,
Pilar.
Courtney did not realize until that fateful night that she was missing the
intimacy and security of a relationship with a man. She has to overcome her fear
of losing a loved one again before she could fully explore a relationship with
Lloyd. Lloyd’s character is strong, sensitive and vulnerable which makes him
more realistic. Both characters realized that they would not only have to learn
to trust, communicate and compromise, but also forgive in order to have a future
together.
DESTINED TO MEET is well written with a plot the moves seamlessly along.
Mr. Archer allowed the main characters to grow and work through their
insecurities and issues together, as adults in a relationship should. When one
character put up a wall the other one figured out a way to get around it, and
neither was afraid to ask for help or admit that they were traveling in
uncharted territory. I believe this is the first time that I have seen a male
character have this much internal dialogue going on. It was like having a sneak
peek into the male psyche.
Mr. Archer is to be commended for entertaining and quick read.
reviewer@romanceincolor.com | 15th July 2008