Stevie‘s review of Colliding Hearts (Hearts on Fire, Book 3) by L.M. Connolly
Contemporary Romance published by Tule Publishing Group 19 Aug 19
I’ve been enjoying this series about three very different but equally successful men, who share an absent – and now deceased – mother. This time around, we meet the sibling no one knew about before the series began: Daniel, the first child that Evangeline Miller abandoned in her quest for fame, fortune, and adoration. Daniel McCord has always known he was adopted and enjoys a close relationship with the parents who raised him, as well as the rest of their family, so he’s not particularly bothered to learn about his blood relatives, even if one half-brother designed his favourite marque of sports car – of which he owns an example – and the other is planning to make an offer on a building Daniel has an interest in. Daniel’s more immediate concern is the well-being of his younger sister, whom is undergoing the last round of treatment following breast cancer, and what to do about his sister’s best friend, soon to arrive in town with no one to meet her at the airport since Daniel’s sister got held up at the hospital.
Rita Morley, meanwhile, is disappointed not to be met by her best friend as she arrives in the US for the first time, but excited both about the fun they’ll have together and about the fact that she’s been asked to take part in an exhibition of works by up-and-coming artists. Certain that she doesn’t need the help of a man she’s never met, Rita arranges car rental and temporary accommodation that suit her limited budget and heads off in search of a brief rest before her meeting with the gallery’s owner. Unfortunately a combination of bad luck, jetlag, and a car in such poor condition it should never have been hired to anyone leads to Rita being in a collision with Daniel’s chauffeur-driven limo. Mortified to learn whom she’s just inconvenienced, Rita tries to continue on her way, but Daniel steps in to rescue her from a motel she really doesn’t want to be anywhere near.
Later, at the first gallery event on Rita’s schedule, she learns that the beautiful building it’s housed in is scheduled for demolition – on Daniel’s orders after a damning surveyor’s report – to be replaced by far less characterful modern buildings. Rita is not happy with this prospect, and it turns out that Daniel’s half-brother agrees with her, seeing lots of potential in the existing structure for the next addition to his chain of boutique hotels. In spite of their difference of opinion on this matter, Rita and Daniel continue to see more of each other, and she embarks on her next artwork, a portrait of Daniel, even though he’s not a great fan of her style. However, he can see that others around him appreciate it and wants to both spend more time with Rita and find out what she makes of him.
Although the romance between Rita and Daniel was the focus of this book, I was far more taken with the secondary plots around the fate of the building and Rita’s friendship with Daniel’s sister, not to mention the glimpses we get of Ethan and Scarlett from the previous book. I also liked that we got to see Rita in her more usual environment back in the UK in addition to her being a fish out of water in the US, and relished her self-sufficiency and determination to help others even in situations where she herself was at a disadvantage.
I’m kind of hoping this isn’t really the end of the series or that we’ll at least get a spin-off series. There’ve been lots of hints that Evangeline Miller had other children besides those we’ve met, and there are secondary characters from all the books that I’d like to see get their own stories told.
Grade: B
Summary:
After teacher and artist Rita Morley arrives in Houston from England for her art exhibition she’s so jet-lagged, she dives into a limo. Out climbs the man of her dreams – developer Daniel McCord. He’s also, as her best friend’s brother, off limits, until he makes it clear that he shares the attraction that has always burned between them. They both agree to a vacation fling – one week of sexual bliss. Only Daniel asks her to stay longer, and things turn serious until Rita learns he plans to demolish the building holding her art exhibition. Suddenly the lovers find themselves on opposite sides of the fight.
For Daniel McCord, work has always come first over friends and family and fun until he meets Rita. The sexy and sassy English painter makes his night burn with passion and his days full of stolen moments and joy. He can’t imagine his life without her, but he’s not convinced he can build a life with her. They have different goals and values. Then Daniel’s world is rocked when he discovers he has two brothers he’s never met. He needs Rita in a way he could never have anticipated.
If he can’t convince her to stay, Daniel will lose Rita for good.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
