Review: The Newcomer

About the Book:

Single dad and Thunder Point's deputy sheriff "Mac" McCain has worked hard to keep his town safe and his daughter happy. Now he's found his own happiness with Gina James. The longtime friends have always shared the challenges and rewards of raising their adolescent daughters. With an unexpected romance growing between them, they're feeling like teenagers themselves-suddenly they can't get enough of one another.

And just when things are really taking off, their lives are suddenly thrown into chaos. When Mac's long-lost ex-wife shows up in town, drama takes on a whole new meaning. Mac and Gina know they're meant to be together, but can their newfound love withstand the pressure?

My Comments:

This book was busy,  very busy.  You have Mack and Gina as noted above.  Then there is Sarah and Cooper.  Mac's daughter is seeing Sarah's son.  Gina's daughter was seeing last year's local sports star.  Mack's aunt is seeing the guy whose cabin Mack and Gina use.  Then there are the old relationships--Mac's ex-wife shows up and is up to no good.  Cooper's ex calls and she has news for him.  Gina looks up her daughter's father after all these years.  Sarah has to decide between a life she has learned to love (and maybe a man she has learned to love) and her job.  It's hard to keep everybody straight.

I found this book to be a quick engaging read with likable characters. It deals with teenage angst, including excessive phoning and texting and cyberbullying.  It deals with seemly excessive reactions to teen break-ups and with the long-term consequences of non-marital sex.  Still, the solution given isn't less non-marital sex but more birth control.  The story is set in a small town and certainly gives that small town vibe of everyone knowing all of everyone's business.

While lots of folks in this book are intimate with each other there is only one scene that gets very graphic and it includes ice cream.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.