Holly‘s review of The Daddy Audition by Cindi Myers a(caution – sound on the site)
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin American Romance 14 Jul 09

I enjoyed the basic premise of this story: heroine leaves to pursue her dreams and leaves high school sweetheart behind. Now she’s back and so is their attraction. 

I liked both characters up until a certain point, but then the way they refused to talk to each other and their personal insecurities started to annoy me. I understood Tanya’s reasons for leaving, just as I understood Jack’s for letting her. But as the story progressed, I became frustrated with both of them.

Jack didn’t think he could put himself out there because he didn’t know how she felt, while Tanya was suffering the same issue. By the end I was pretty fed up with both of them, though the heroine more than the hero. Mostly because she was the one who ran and refused to put herself out there in high school, and spent most of the book pushing him away again.

The parts with Tanya’s daughter were cute, but she didn’t play a very large part in the story. At times she almost seemed like a filler – there to take up space rather than enhance the story. That really disappointed me because I felt there was a lot of potential there to really highlight the character of both Tanya and Jack.

Overall not bad, but not great either.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Tanya Bledso couldn’t wait to leave Crested Butte to chase dreams of Hollywood stardom. Now the single mom has returned to run the local theater and raise her daughter. But the peaceful, charming town she took for granted has exploded into a bustling tourist attraction, thanks to one man.

Jack Crenshaw. Property developer extraordinaire…and her former high school sweetheart.

Ten years hasn’t cooled the heat between them. Worse, Jack is bonding with her daughter and giving her the crazy idea he’d make the perfect family man. But is he ready to forgive and forget the heartbreak of the past for the role he seems born to play?

Read an excerpt here.