Last Summer

So much of this book is real to life. It touches your heart, plays with your emotions and shows you the inside of one's soul. It is a different kind of love story. Johnny Irish has led a horrible life since childhood. Even his hollywood career has let him down. It all began in the town of Hope where everyone thought him a bad seed. Now he must go back to the town, face those who shunned him but not before meeting Maggie Mayfield. She is everything that he is not and yet she touches him in a way that no one else ever has making him want to be a better person. The relationship has its hardships as Johnny must fight to be a better person.

It is difficult for me to find contemporary romances that I really enjoy. Too often I find the story lines the same with little character development, no depth to the story, and usually an ill attempt at humor - while the hero and heroine circle each other trying to prove who is the most sexually aggressive. Last Summer certainly does not fall into any of those categories. It is a serious romance with realistic characters - even if one is a Hollywood bad boy. It is a tender story of two imperfect people who seem too different for a relationship yet find themselves drawn together by circumstance again and again. There are very moving scenes as well as some delicious dialogue as the leads attempt to discover the truth about each other.Johnnie Irish is the local bad boy who has made it big in Hollywood. He doesn't enjoy the thought of returning to his hometown - he hates it. But they have invited him to be the star of a parade - it might be entertaining to see people act like they adore him when he received nothing but rejection from them growing up. Johnnie seems to have little value for life and even less ethics. He plays the part of a spoiled and immature Hollywood hunk but it's just an act. He hides his pain from the world and himself well. That is until he meets Maggie.Maggie Mayfield is a normal, everyday schoolteacher in a small town in west Texas. She is a widow who lives a very controlled and pleasant life. Maggie is more mature than most romance heroines. She is refreshing, solid and real but not at all perfect. She never dreamed that Johnnie would ever consider her as more than a summer fling. Her honest and sensible way of life makes quite an impression on Johnnie. Yet she is dishonest and fearful later in the book. And I think that is one of the best things about Last Summer. The leads were human and made mistakes just like all the rest of us. There was nothing unbelievable about the story - no stretches of the imagination are required.Maggie and Johnnie form a friendship of sorts as he decides to stay in his hometown for a few weeks. Maggie discovers that Johnnie is a diabetic and becomes genuinely concerned about his careless attitude towards his illness and life. Their relationship develops in many aspects and soon you find yourself thoroughly engrossed in this exceptional story. The book covers a longer period of time than most romances and the leads actually live hundreds of miles from one another much of that time. However, the author does not make us wait out those separations. Time passes quickly for the reader when Maggie and Johnnie are apart. Regardless of their separations, they are still together for the vast majority of the book. The sensual scenes rate about 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). And best of all - this is a story about Johnnie and Maggie's relationship. There are no villains planning evil in the background. It is true romance at it's best.I highly recommend

this book is one of my favorites. johnny break my heart with his weakness. it's a hard book to find but if you can get your hand on it, please get it, you will love it too.