The Real Thing

This is, I believe, what's known as a "cabin romance." Deirdre Joyce is an aerobics instructor, but she's broken her leg. Now, not only is her career in jeopardy, but her family sees it as the perfect time to increase the pressure on her to take her place in the family business--but she's been there, done that, and doesn't want to go there again. So she turns to a friend and asks for the loan of her remote island cabin to hide out and heal. Neil Hersey is a corporate lawyer, but when he discovers shady dealings, he doesn't get the gratitude he might have expected. Instead, he loses his job, and rumors are started that he'd been the criminal. So he turns to a friend and asks for the loan of her remote island cabin to hide out and decide what to do now. Needless to say, it's the same friend, and she hasn't told either of them about the other. I had a little trouble warming up to Deirdre initially--she was needlessly rude to Neil and prone to cutting off her nose to spite her face--angrily refusing help when she obviously needed it. Neil was a bit pitiful initially, but he perked up once he met Deirdre and had a goal. The solution to their problems was clever, and well-done. Overall, The Real Thing is a sweet story, about two people who end up being just what the other needs.

I love Barbra Delinsky and she never fails to give me a good read. This one was no different. Albeit it read VERY fast and the ending was a bit predictable, I still felt that once again these characters were good friends of mine. I have only read about 4 or 5 of Ms. Delinsky's novels and I simply cannot wait to read more.