Almost A Family by Donna Alward
review by Holly

6 years ago, Molly and Jason were on the fast track to happily ever after. High School sweethearts, they knew they were destined to be together. But Jason pushed just a little too hard, and in the wrong way, and Molly disappeared.

Now, her baby sister has been in a car accident and begs Molly to come home to take care of her 3-year-old niece. Molly agrees, not realizing her sister’s next door neighbor is none other than her old flame.

Jason was hurt when Molly disappeared so long ago, without even an explanation, so he’s determined to guard his heart now that she’s back in town. Unfortunately, he can’t seem to get over the past, and the more time he spends with Molly, the more old feelings come to the surface.

Molly’s some hot-shot corporate lawyer and though she’s willing to look after her niece, she can’t wait to get back to her ‘real’ life. But after a few days in the company of Jason and Sara, her niece, she’s starting to re-think her decision to live so far away from them. The only thing holding her back is Jason. The reason she refused to marry him was that he had their life all planned out ahead of time. He knew where they’d work, when they’d have kids, all of that, but he never bothered to ask her what she wanted.

Molly comes to realize she made a mistake in running away the first time and not only abandoning Jason, but her baby sister as well. She also realizes she’s lonely and needs her family. But even though she and Jason realize they still love each other, he still hasn’t realized why she left, and once again he’s planning their life out together, without thinking of what she wants.

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. I figured the heroine would end up too stupid to live, insisting she was independent and all that, but truthfully, she was in the right. She didn’t make the best decision by running away all those years ago, but the hero wasn’t willing to compromise at all, and she felt she had no other choice.

The writing style was good and the story flowed well. The characters were believable and engaging. I truly enjoyed it. The way the story was set up, I’m pretty sure there’ll be a follow up story with Molly’s younger sister and the father of her baby. I liked her character, so I’ll be looking for it.

Grade: B+

You can find the book in print at MBAM and in ebook or at amazon