Fireside by Susan Wiggs
Fireside is a light-hearted romance with a strong central cast. The book is set in Avalon, New York and is a new entrant in the ‘Lakeside Chronicles’ romance book series.
The Story:
This book revolves around Bo Crutcher, a baseball player who aspires to join the New York Yankees. He’s invited to join the spring training for the Yankees and though much older than the average player, he is determined to make the team. The story, however, begins with Bo waiting to pick up his 12 year old son, AJ at the airport.
You see AJ’s mother got arrested as part of a deportation sting and AJ is being sent to live with his father. Though Bo has been supporting AJ financially he’s stayed away at his ex-wife’s advice. So father and son, practically strangers, move into a boarding house near the Yankee training camp and begin the task of getting to know one another.
Around the same time Kim Van Dorn, the daughter of the boarding house owner, moves back home. Kim, a publicist for professional athletes, recently walked out on her latest client and fiancé. Hmmn, what a coincidence – and so darn convenient too.
Kim ends up helping Bo with his preparations to join the Yankees and it’s clear there’s a natural attraction between them. Actually the best scenes in the book are those where they are working together and falling in love. The book has some subplots but they’re overshadowed by the romance.
The pace of the book is a bit slow at times and the initial coincidence of Bo moving into a boarding house whose owner’s daughter just happens to have experience representing athletes and who just happens to have ended her relationship with her boyfriend and who just happens to move back home the same time Bo moves in . . . well, you get my drift. It’s a bit contrived to say the least. Fans of the Lakeside Chronicles series will probably overlook these issues but for me, the plot was a bit too pat. I’ll probably check out the other romance stories in the series to see if this book is the exception or the rule.
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