Unexpected Family

The characters were so well drawn, so real to life. Ms. Campbell made me know them intimately, forcing me to feel with them, cry with them, and rejoice with them! Joe and Meg's story is about the heart and the struggle it often takes to open it and to finally admit to what's been inside of it all along.Joe went through so much hell as a prisoner in Milagua that for years, all his emotions and energy were tied up in the only hopeful vision/idea he had to hang on to -- his first love, Elena. Even after he returns home and marries Meg (his best friend's sister), it's not until late in the book that he acknowleges he DOES love his wife, and always has. Watching him come to allow that love, to admit it, to own it -- and only after the impact of discovering his son -- is a powerful,emotional experience.

I don't keep many romance novels. I read them once and pass them along. But I have the feeling I'll read this one again and again and again, picking up new insights each time.This isn't a typical romance. No hearts and flowers, no champagne and fireworks. So what is it?A marriage. Between people who strike me as extraordinary realistic. Not your typical suave hero and fiesty heroine -- if you're looking for those, skip this book! But if you're looking for the depths of love, pain and compassion that can stretch a marriage to the breaking point...followed by an ending that'll leave you reeling...this book belongs on your keeper shelf.Because I'm not lending ANYBODY mine!

I don't normally read romance novels, but tried this one out and thought it was great! The characters were very well-developed throughout the course of the book. Ms. Campbell is an excellent author!

I don't usually read novels of this kind, but I got this book as a Christmas gift. I found myself engrossed in Meg's challenges. I loved these characters - even though I don't usually find myself that taken by "everyday people" in works of fiction.This book is a gem. Read it!

If you are looking for a light and fluffy, funny book, then I strongly suggest you pass on this one. If you are looking for a very well-written, poignant, heart-squeeze of a book, then this book is for you. Keep the tissues nearby, though...you might need them. I rarely cry - for any reason. However, there were a few places in this book where even I was getting a bit misty.Meg and Joe McConnell have been married for four years. They've known one another since their teens, when Joe was friends with Meg's brother. However, their marriage has not always been happy, and was entered into more for convenience than passion. They love one another, but always feel that each has disappointed the other in ways that cannot be atoned for.Meg married Joe knowing that while he loved her, a large part of his heart would always belong to Elena, his first love. She wants nothing more than to make a home for him, and have a family. Imagine her heartbreak to learn that she cannot bear children. She feels that she has failed Joe, and their lives will not be complete without children. When all medical means fail, they pursue adoption.Joe had been a reporter in Milagua, and Elena was one of the rebels. In the midst of an uprising, Joe was captured and thrown into prison, where he was tortured for several years. He maintained his sanity during this time by focusing on the life he would have with Elena after his release. However, when that day finally came, Joe was told that Elena had been killed in the uprising. He returned home, scarred and shattered, only to learn that his mother had also died while he was gone, and he was now completely alone. He finds his way to Meg's house, where she and her brother take him in. Meg has helped him heal physically, and held him through the nightmares.He loves Meg, but he feels that a part of him has been destroyed by all that he has been through. He wishes he could give her more, and make her happy. Since a child will make her happy, he wants a child for her.They are both shocked to learn that Joe already has a child - Elena's. Nine year-old Antonio comes to live with them from a Milaguan orphanage.Meg truly wants to make a home for Tony; he's a bright child, and so much like Joe. How could she not love him? But he's also a reminder of the ever-perfect Elena, who not only had Joe's love, but also gave him the child she could not. Tony has many adjustments to make, as well. He's lost his mother, his homeland, and is living with a father he doesn't know. Joe wants to make a home for his son, and also do what's best for his wife. He feels completely out of his element, and fears he cannot be a good enough father.The characters in this book were very well drawn, and I ached for them. I wanted them all to be happy, and for them to grow into a family. They all wanted this, as well, but each had to be able to set aside their own perceptions, and learn to communicate. And by the end of the book, each ha