The Wedding Fling by Meg Maguire
I forgot how seductive Meg Maguire's writing can be.
As soon as I started reading this, I got sucked back in to the Meg Maguire Black Hole and I couldn't get out.
And I didn't want to.
Once again, Meg takes a seemingly simple premise (run-away bride off to Barbados, and conflicted pilot with a dream and an ailing father), and she makes it sing. Like an opera at the Met.
There is something about her writing. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's simple and straight-forward, and yet it has a richness to it. She has the perfect balance of deep POV and external plot. And the relationships that develop between the hero and heroine always feel organic, real and believable.
This book is no exception. Leigh is by far Maguire's most appealing heroine. She is a down-to-earth starlet and her sweetness and practicality are very appealing. The hero is sexy and complex. A rugged island pilot who falls unexpectedly in love with this woman. She shoots all of his preconceptions about Hollywood gals right out the door. His awful secret and guilt builds throughout the novel and makes a wonderful, suspenseful story arc.
I also liked the resolution. There are no big fireworks, just two troubled characters willing to take a risk after heart-ache. The end was very romantic. I would have liked an epilogue, such as the one we got with The Reluctant Nude. It was such a fine ending for that story.
Another one of Maguire's strengths is her development of setting. And believe me when I tell you, you'll be ready to jump on a plane to Barbados and bask in the setting sun with a frosty cold beer.
Maguire elevates the standard Harlequin into something special. This is a lovely and romantic contemporary, not quite as sexy as some of her other novels, but definitely emotionally satisfying.
Grade: A-
Happy Reading,
Penelope
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