Better With Time

The Shaw Brothers #1

by Brenda Butler

Jack Shaw was terribly betrayed by his ex-wife, Stacey. Two years ago, he came home to find Stacey had left their home, taking with her their two-year-old son, Charlie. Worse yet, Stacey's goodbye letter announced that someone else was Charlie's biological father. Jack was left with only the grief of losing the child he always thought was his.

Cassie Reed has been divorced for several years. She was deeply hurt by her ex-husband's infidelity. On top of that, raising her son and running a successful business has left her with little time for romance. Now that her son has left for college, Cassie wants to start a remodeling project at her large thrift store, Cassie's Closet.

When Jack's company is hired to do the remodeling project, there is a mutual and powerful attraction between Jack and Cassie. Just as Jack starts to believe that he can trust someone else with his heart, Stacey re-enters Jack life, with Charlie at her side, and she wants them to be a family again.

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2013

About the author

The Shaw Brothers series is my first series in contemporary romance and I love writing about the lives and loves in a small town. I'm currently working on the next book in my new series, Heather Valley. I am an avid reader as well as a writer and I also enjoy watching baseball, softball and attending various festivals in the San Francisco Bay area.

Reviews

[DJ Sakata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better With Time did get better with time; the last half of the book was better than the first. A welcome relief to read a love story that was not a chronicle of constant conflict between the main characters. Liked the sweet story and liked the characters, but the dialog was rather flat and dry, and wording got a bit repetitive. Could use some polish and a thesaurus. People don't always talk in full and grammatically correct sentences, it sounded too formal and stiff. For the first half of the book, I thought it was going to be a religious romance - then some welcome spice showed up. The few sex scenes were not graphic and generally well done.

[Melody Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Shaw had been horrifically betrayed by his ex-wife, Stacey. Two years ago when he arrived home from work not only was Stacey gone but so was his two-year-old son. To further shatter Jack's heart Stacey left a letter stating the boy was not biologically his son.

Cassie Reed has been left deeply hurt by her husband's betrayal. Now that her son is grown and away at college she decides it is time to begin dating.

When Jack and Cassie meet the attraction between the two cannot stay hidden. Just when their relationship is getting serious, Jack's conniving ex-wife comes back into his life with the little boy in tow.

This was a very good story but, for me, there was just too much Stacey involved. Too much time working on her plan to get Jack back in her grips...temporarily. I would have enjoyed it more if there was more Jack and Cassie and less evil Stacey. However, I do recommend this book. It was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a truly enjoyable read. Throughout the entire book, you knew how both main characters felt and what they were thinking. I found it a little difficult to keep track of who was saying what in conversations but other than that, I found it to be a charming story. I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super predictable read and almost hokey but a very enjoyable read. I like to read a book like this once in a while.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love with this story!