Chasing the Moonlight by Anne Marie Novark

Title: Chasing the Moonlight
Author: Anne Marie Novark
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: 2009; First Yellow Rose Edition, 2010
ISBN: 1-60154-656-4
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 244 pages
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Author Website
Author Email: am@annemarienovark.com
Rating: 5 Diamonds
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: Starla Kaye
Date: 2-9-10

Stone Creek, Texas’ bad boy, Mitch Defalco, had left town right after high school, headed for fame and fortune in Nashville. Life seldom works out like you think it will and it sure hadn’t for him. Now he returns to his hometown and his family with a teenage daughter he’d not even known about, hoping his family can help him be the father he wants to be. But deep down he believes he’s still the same bad boy he always was and always will be. He’s afraid to take a chance of letting himself fall in love, certain the woman would never deserve the kind of man he is.

Sarah Cooper hasn’t had an easy life, but she’s a survivor and a loving mother. She’s also had a secret crush on the town’s bad boy who had dated her older sister years ago. The same bad boy her mother blames for the death of her sister. And now Mitch is back in her life. Bigger and more dangerous than ever, at least to her and her wounded heart.

I love “bad boy” stories and “wounded women” stories, so the combination was wonderful. Both Mitch and Sarah have spent years dealing with issues that have been hard to put behind them. They need each other. She needs to help him understand that he’s a far better man and father than he thinks. He needs to help her get over the terrible incident in her past. Their kids need to help Mitch and Sarah move beyond what is keeping them apart so they can become a family. It was enjoyable to follow the struggling romance, and to watch this special man learn to be a father.