Trespass by Meg Maguire
Contemporary Romance
July 26, 2011
E-Book
Samhain

Reviewed by Mandi

After reading The Reluctant Nude earlier this year, I became very excited to try something else by Meg Maguire. Trespass didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but it still offers quite a different story, which I’ve come to expect from Meg Maguire aka Cara McKenna.

Sarah is on the run. From Buffalo, New York you know she is running from something serious she was involved in, but as the reader you don’t know exactly what.  After hitchhiking west, she finds herself in Montana, hungry and injured. One hitchhiker put a knife to her throat. Another time she was shot with a buckshot after she trespassed on property. That is how she finds herself on a farm, hoping to bunk down in a barn. But before she can get there, dogs start charging at her, and she finds herself face to face with a man in boxers holding a gun.

Russ is a vet, and owns this farm that Sarah has wandered onto in the middle of the night. He sees her holding her side and invites her in to take a look at her injuries. After assessing that nothing is life threatening, he patches her up, offers her food and a shower. She refuses to tell him how she ended up hurt in his front yard. Russ has been widowed for seven years, and hasn’t come across any type of woman like Sarah in all this time. Sarah comes from a bad neighborhood in Buffalo and the sight of a “cowboy” is new to her as well.

Even though Russ doesn’t know what crime she committed, he lets her stay in his house. She offers to help out with farm and household chores for food and shelter. They quickly develop friendly banter, and find it very cozy to eat dinner by the fire at night. But Sarah soon feels the urge to flee again, but getting away from Russ is going to be harder than she thought.

I finished Trespass and stared at the Goodreads rating for awhile unable to decide what to rate it. And I think my confusion all comes down to Russ. He is more of a beta hero. Quiet, not really demanding, (although in bed – he knows what he wants.). Although his wife has been dead for seven years, and he has moved on, her ghost still weighs him down at times. At least I think she does – as this is part of the problem. How much is he actually affected by his dead wife? He is just plain lonely, so when Sarah shows up, he clings to her. At times, I felt he clings to her in a very desperate, almost creepy way. He has no idea what kind of criminal she is, but he just lets her into his house. Why? Why does he fall for her so hard? Is it just loneliness and a warm body? He really doesn’t know anything about her so I struggled with his hard and fast feelings for her. I will admit in real life not believing in love at first sight. I don’t think these two experience this, but I think Russ must have had deeper feelings for Sarah than what is shown.

What I did like, is that after a very short amount of time, Sarah gets nervous and tries to run off. Russ catches up to her quick. He is so hurt that she tried to leave. That she had given him a false name. Although they didn’t have intercourse, they pretty much had sex before she ran off. Then the doubts start to form in Russ’s mind- did she use me for sex? Is she not who he thought she was?

On Sarah’s end – Russ is nice to her. He offers her protection and comfort. His lifestyle of living in very small, rural town is completely foreign to her. It offers her a chance to stop and catch her breath. She is definitely physically attracted to him, but his demeanor appeals to her as well. Deep down she is a good person, and her trying to run from him really has nothing to do with him. If anything, she wants to protect him from the possibility of helping a fugitive out. After she comes back to his house, I like how he has lost all trust in her. It takes awhile for their friendship to return. Again, I questioned why Russ wants her to stay with him. He gets so nervous at the thought of her leaving again, but getting past that, I like that their relationship is not an easy one.

But like I said, I like their new foundation for a relationship and then when the big reveal comes as to why she is running, that presents an entire new set of problems for them. I was very satisfied by the ending, although this book only takes place within about a span of a week.

So yes, I had a few problems, but I also like how different these characters are. Russ is not your typical hero – he is just an average dude and on the surface nothing super grand stands out about him, but Meg Maguire writes him so he is not boring. He really intrigued me although baffled me too. And Sarah has this secret, and comes from a hard life. I love how that part of her integrates into this new, calm, “easy” life on the farm with Russ.

Rating: B-

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