Everything But the Baby [Large Print]

It is Allison Cabot's wedding day and everything is ready. The guests have arrived and the flowers are perfect. All she needs now is the groom. Lincoln Gray never shows up though. Instead, Allison meets Mark Travers who claims that Lincoln is already married to his sister. Allison and Mark set out to find Lincoln and make him pay for what he's done. Along the way, Allison finds herself falling for Mark. Even though Mark wants Allison, he feels he can never give her what she really wants. Allison will need to convince him that what she wants most is him. I enjoyed reading Allison's and Mark's plans unfolding in Everything But The Baby and Allison's colorful Irish family are really fun. I was very anxious to see what would happen at the end, it was a bit of a let down though. Still, Everything But The Baby is a good story. Nannette Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

EVERYTHING BUT THE BABY by Kathleen O'Brien April 15, 2007 Rating **** (4 Stars) In EVERYTHING BUT THE BABY, Allison Cabot is dumped at the altar by fiancé Lincoln Gray, who Allison finds out later has been going after women for their money. In fact, he's still married to someone else. Mark Traver's sister is the current Mrs. Gray. Lincoln married her, and then ran off with $300,000 in money and jewels. Mark shows up at Allison's wedding in the hopes of catching Lincoln and getting revenge for his sister. Allison obviously is hurt by Lincoln's abrupt departure and realizes that her pre-nup was what chased him away. She is now convinced that she needs to stop him before he ruins another girl's life. Allison at first turns Mark away, but then goes looking for him after a change of heart. He's surprised to see Allison on his front door steps, and together they go in search of Lincoln, back to where Allison had originally met her fiancé, in Florida. Allison's original reason in Florida had been her search for her mother's long lost family, Allison's Irish roots. Her father and his attitude kept the families apart, but now that her father was dead, she wanted to renew acquaintances and to connect with her mother's side of the family again. Allison and Mark book rooms at the O'Hara family hotel, with Mark changing his name to Matt, and the two of them plot to get back at Lincoln, who is now wooing another unsuspecting woman, a very buxom Janelle Greenwood. There are many engaging characters in EVERYTHING BUT THE BABY, including Danny, one of Allison's cousins, who falls for Janelle. Danny works for his father at the family hotel, as well at another resort, and at a young age already has a history of trouble with the law. He's naive and wants to protect Janelle, not knowing the true story behind Lincoln and his quest for money. He only knows that Janelle loves Lincoln, and he will do anything to make her happy. When he learns of Allison's scheme to woo Lincoln, Danny thinks that Allison is the enemy, and does his best to thwart her every move. Other interesting characters are the twins Flannery and Fiona, two ten year olds who are as different as night and day. One is quiet, while the other is loud mouthed and precocious. They help give the story a lighthearted feel and add to the humor that winds through most of the story. Readers will love the O'Hara's, a loud bunch of Irishmen and women who are charming and fun. The O'Hara's comprise the subplot of the story, Allison's need to reconnect with her mother's family, and their story works well in conjunction with the story line that centers on Lincoln, Allison and Mark's plan for revenge. Ultimately the entire family gets into the act, as Allison tries to trap Lincoln into marrying her again, with the help of Mark/Matt. The love interest between Allison and Mark is believable because it happens gradually, but it almost doesn't happen because of the circumstances in which they had met. I found thi

Allison Cabot was waiting at the altar for Lincoln to arrive, but he never does. She assumes he jilted her because of her prenuptial agreement. The only good thing about Lincoln Gray's failure to appear is that her father was not alive to see the humiliation as dad died six months ago. She only wishes he broke off the engagement before she spent money on the wedding. However, Mark Travers arrives to explain to Allison that Lincoln jilted her because he married his sister Tracy last year before absconding with her funds. Mark further explains that Lincoln carefully selects his marks as lonely women in their thirties suffering from a setback that leaves them at this moment open to his charm. He wants her help to find the scoundrel who wiped out his sister's bank accounts before vanishing. Allison agrees to assist him, but Mark changes his mind as he does not want the woman he loves used as bait to catch an amoral rogue. The lead couple makes for a fine tale as the audience will immediately accept Allison and Mark setting up a scam to get back at Lincoln; neither expected nor desired love to enter their relationship forged out of a need for revenge. Fans will enjoy this fine cat and mouse romance while wondering if Lincoln has even one redeeming quality. Harriet Klausner