Tempting Janey

Janey Mayfield had moved back to South Carolina with her daughter, but things started to go awry when Marine-turned-high school principal Dillon Reed stepped back into her life. They needn't have been reminded of the affair which turned their well-ordered lives upside down, but when Janey's ex-husband and daughter rebel against her in their own ways, where else does she have to turn? And where will she go from here? Mary Lynn Baxter's latest book explores characters and relationships of different levels within those characters. A reader may be disturbed toward the end of the book, but this dose of harsh reality can be what makes the story much more believable. With the combination of reality and depth, Tempting Janey can satisfy a reader well.

Janey Mayfield has a full plate. Returning home to run her aunt's candy shop, she is faced with an unfaithful ex who favors the bottle and wants her back; slipping sales at the candy shop; a teenage daughter who is eager to spread her wings and an elderly old friend of her aunt who is in need of care. What could be worse? Add fighting an attraction to Dillon Reed, muscular hunk, former friend and principal of her daughter's school. Dillon is the very last person Janey should be attracted to. A shared heartache binds them to the past. Dillon has his own feeings about the past to overcome but seeing Janey ignites something inside him. Will this attraction be enough to overcome the terrible past which severed their friendship? I my opinion, Mary Lynn Baxter has been underrated as an author. I find her characters real and believable and look forward to her next contemporary romance.

Janey Mayfield returns to the small town of Brookwood, South Carolina to assume ownership of her aunt's candy stores Sweet Dreams. Starting over again at thirty-eight is quite a challenge. Her seventeen-year-old daughter Robin is both the joy of her life, and a challenge to her sanity. With her father nearby, Robin demonstrates the classically blaming and painful reactions typical of children of divorce. As Janey struggles to balance her checkbook with late child support payments, the threat of a new candy store at the mall, and a boyfriend for her daughter who makes her distinctly nervous, she comes to represent many single mothers struggling to keep abreast of life's challenges. High school Principal Dillon Reed is an ex-Marine with a perchance for handling things alone, whether it be a break in at the school or the secrets of his painful marriage. Now widowed, Dillon doesn't plan to risk his heart again after the disaster his marriage proved to be. But when Janey returns to town, Dillon can't resist the pull. Never mind the painful past they share, and the wretched pain inflicted by their previous spouses. TEMPTING JANEY breaks many stereotypes and boldly confronts a single mother's worst fear -- her daughter's safety risked by a boyfriend. Additionally, the older hero and heroine, as opposed to most romances dwelling on the twenty-something, or at least those interested and ready to have babies, brings a touch of maturity and depth seldom matched in mainstream romance. Readers should expect a somewhat lively, if naughty, love story that overcomes previous spousal indiscretions in addition to a complex, emotionally challenging read that approaches life as it truly might be lived. Indeed, TEMPTING JANEY is highly entertaining, coming highly recommended.

In Hunter, South Carolina, former Marine turned principal of Brookwood High School, Dillon Reed, thinks the world stops when he sees Janey Mansfield again. Three years ago his now deceased wife had an affair with Janey's then-husband. Both marriages crumbled and Janey fled with her daughter to Colorado to escape the scandal. She has returned to take over the operating of her aunt's candy store.Janey and Dillon are very attracted to one another. However, she has big problems with her teenage daughter and has no time to worry about a man, especially her daughter's principal whose ex had an affair with her ex. Still, in spite of both their common senses shouting "run," Janey and Dillon cannot stay away from one another. However, obstacles continue to keep them apart making any opportunity for a second chance at love slim.The concept behind TEMPTING JANEY is as juicy as they get as two people burned by the indiscretions of their spouses begin to fall in love. The lead couple is a charming duo who deserves happiness. However, Mary Lynn Baxter concentrates on the attraction between them more than the relationship, thus hampering the plot. Still, contemporary romance fans will enjoy Ms. Baxter's tale even if most will ask "where's the beef" apart from Dillon.Harriet Klausner