Melting Into You by Tracey Alvarez (Due South #2)
Contemporary Romance
Released: June 8, 2014
Icon Publishing
Reviewed by Mandi
Similar to book one, In too Deep, this one is cute but at times slow. Maybe even a bit slower than the first book. I think this author has a nice voice, and her books are easy to read with likable characters, but not a lot happens.
Kezia Murphy’s husband died four years ago and at the same time her daughter Zoe battled leukemia – so to be standing strong in present day with a healthy daughter is a big accomplishment for Kezia. Living on a small island off the coast of New Zealand, Kezia is pretty content. But when a woman asks Kezia for directions to her neighbor Ben’s house, Kezia gets suspicious. This woman is towing an eight year old along with her that looks suspiciously just like Ben.
Ben runs his family’s dive boat that takes tourists out on the water to search for sharks and other adventures. When an ex-girlfriend shows up at his door and drops a daughter he didn’t know he had at his feet, Ben is stunned. He has no idea what to do with kids, let alone his own kid. When his ex leaves and says she’ll be back in two weeks, Ben panics and calls the first person he thinks of, Kezia. Ben and Kezia are good friends and Kezia comes to the rescue, bringing parenting wisdom and her own daughter to befriend Jade. She also brings her good looks and fun personality that melts Ben’s heart.
Ben’s reaction to having a daughter is done pretty well. He is a good guy and takes responsibility, but he is pretty lost when it comes to kids. The way he bumbles his way through the first few days is endearing. Kezia is a little more on the perfect side – I thought her backstory with her husband dying while her daughter was battling leukemia to be quite…a lot of baggage for a character to deal with. She hasn’t been with anyone since her husband died so it takes her awhile to accept Ben’s advances.
As I said earlier, this is a nice story, but I needed more meat. I needed something else happening to keep me invested. I have to say I got a tiny bit bored. But at the same time I didn’t dislike this story. I like the setting and the characters, but new and the ones we revisit from book one are nice and easy going. We’ll see how book three goes.
Rating: C+
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