Devon’s review of Christmas Delivery by Patricia Rosemoor
Romantic Suspense released by Harlequin Intrigue 1 Dec 08
I’m all about the Christmas stories this year. Gotta get ‘em read and reviewed by next week. (Darn DRM, it would make life so much easier if I could get the books onto my iTouch!) Christmas Delivery was a fast read. The romance was a bit meh, but the mystery kept my interest and I enjoyed the touch of the Gothic.
I love stories that feature a small town and its seedy underbelly and secrets. Jenkins Cove, Maryland is a picturesque Eastern Shore town with a very dark underbelly, as explained in the prior books in the mini-series (Christmas Awakening and Christmas Spirit, both of which I want to read). Landscape designer and single mother Lexie Thornton, comes face to face with these dark secrets when she finds first a mysterious key, and then Simon Shea, her babydaddy, long thought dead.
As I said, the romance was meh, which was a bit of a bummer. I love the idea of being reunited with a long lost lover, but I just found it hard to see what brought them together after all these years. They were back together and in love so quickly, and it was based on a fourteen year old relationship, and a shared daughter. They certainly didn’t know each other anymore. Individually, the characters were likeable. Lexie wasn’t super interesting, but I was sympathetic to her struggle as the single mother of a pre-teen. Simon has changed a lot over the years, and I actually bought his reasons for not returning sooner. I just wish I found them more interesting as a couple.
The setting was well-drawn, and the secondary characters were pretty vivid, just the way a mystery should be. The mystery was a bit predictable, and slightly gruesome (in a good way). There was a touch of the paranormal, which I enjoyed. The supernatural element, combined with the hardworking heroine, small town cast and long lost hero, reminded me of Barbara Michaels’ books like Shattered Silk.
If you’re looking for a quick read on your down time, and you like Gothic-type RS, this might be a good choice.
Grade: B-
The Summary:
Of all the eerie events in her hometown of Jenkins Cove, Lexie Thornton found none more pulse-pounding than the return of her lover, thought murdered long ago in the misty bogs on Christmas Eve. But the man who stepped out of the shadows was very much alive—and hell-bent on revenge.Simon Shea had changed. The lanky teen had grown into a hardened man, one she barely recognized—but still desired. Lexie had a secret, too—the daughter they’d made the night he disappeared. Lexie longed to resurrect their love, but someone wanted to make sure Simon never revealed his secret past.
Read an excerpt
