Small Wonders

I recently started reading the Bethlehem series and, even though I'm a romantic suspense person, I'm hooked. I have enjoyed all of her books except for the endings. Her books fall in this pattern-the main characters fall in love, one of them needs to be forgiven for some indiscretion he/she neglected to tell the other, the other character cannot forgive the person, and an angel dramatically changes the mind of the character in the last 5 pages. Bang -end of story.Her latest book, "Small Wonders" began with everyone knowing most of Cole's problems. The book dealt with self discovery, the ability to change, and being able to forgive yourself.The secondary story of Melissa and Alex was also wonderful. As a Special Ed teacher I felt especially appreciative of how this story was handled. I wish more people were so easily accepting.I thorougly enjoyed the whole book. Oh, and the angels were still there, but the characters were given litlle nudges throughout the book, not a mind altering nudge at the end.

Leanne Wilson is not known for making the best choices when it comes to romantic relationships. Her four year-old son's father skipped town as soon as she told him she was pregnant. Then, Leanne thought she had finally met the love of her life in Cole Jackson -- until he conned almost the whole town of Bethlehem into a nonexistent investment, and took off with all of their money. It doesn't matter to Leanne that he eventually repaid everyone. A thief is a thief, in her book. She'll also never forgive him for leaving his twelve year-old son behind, even though she loves the boy like her own. Now Cole is back in town, sentenced to five thousand hours of community service as punishment. But, just who's being punished here -- Leanne or Cole?Cole Jackson knows what he is, and figures it's too late to change. He never dreamed he'd end up back in the small town where the majority of the residents hate him. All Cole wants is to serve his jail time and get the heck out of there. Instead, he gets the shock of his life when the judge sentences him to almost two and a half years of community service. Now he'll have to live across the street from Leanne Wilson, the woman he loved as much as a man like him could, and the son he left behind. Cole would much rather be behind bars!I found the first few chapters of SMALL WONDERS a tad annoying with Cole's constant inner self-loathing, and Leanne's constant inner pity parties. Whenever they met on the street the two harped at each unmercifully. But, as the story continued, and the two really started to communicate, I was glad I persevered. Cole is one of the most unlikely of heroes, Leanne almost too good to be true, but as the story unfolds, they work well together. This is the first of Marilyn Pappano's books I've read, and I'm thinking of tracking down the rest of the books in this series. Several surprise twists and turns held my attention, and a bit of a paranormal twist added some sparks to the story.Overall, I recommend SMALL WONDERS as an enjoyable, mostly light read with intriguing characters. If you're looking for an entertaining, hometown type of romance, this is the book for you.

Con artist Jack Coleman works his trade in Savannah until the local police arrive to arrest him claiming he is Cole Jackson. However the local cops hand him over to Bethlehem, New York police sergeant Nathan Bishop to escort Cole back north to face charges of embezzlement and child abandonment.Cole hates returning there because he left behind his son Ryan and the woman he loves Leanne Wilson, owner of SMALL WONDERS. Unable to do anything but plead guilty though he knows his parents and siblings would call him a barbarian for the con is in the gene pool, Cole is shocked by the sentence. The Judge sentences him to 500 hours of community sentencing under some weird young man Eli. Though he plans to book at the first moment he can flee, the magic of the town begins to cleanse his soul as much as his love for his son, Leanne, and her son.The latest miracle romance is a delightful charmer though in many ways it is similar to previous stories in the series. The key is the cast. The reprobate Cole knows he has the con gene while Leanne oozes goodness yet is no turn the other cheek miss. The two children act like youngsters while Eli provides mysticism to the usual wonderful Marilyn Pappano novel.Harriet Klausner