Paternal Instincts

MEN! #3

by Elizabeth August

Mills & Boon Sweet series promises love affairs to last a lifetime…MEN!

MARRY ME

For romance-weary Roxanne Dugan, another loveless marriage seemed out of the question. But desperate to win custody of a special little boy, she proposed a marriage in name only to a virtual stranger with surprisingly paternal instincts.

FOREVER.

Former secret agent Eric Bishop was a marriage-shy military man, but he'd agreed to walk down the aisle. And though both had agreed there would be no passion, there seemed no stopping the natural instincts between husband and wife .

MEN! A good one isn't hard to find we've handpicked the strongest, bravest, sexiest heroes yet!

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1997

About the author

Betty Marie Wilhite had always wanted to write. She married Doug, and they had three boys, the first was Douglas Jr., four years later Benjamin, and nine years later the last, Matthew. The family lived in Wilmington, Delaware. She began writing romances soon after Matthew was born. She wrote under the pseudonyms of Betsy Page, Elizabeth Douglas, Elizabeth August and Kathleen Ward.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars ~ The story begins with our military hero, Eric, waking up from a 3 year coma which was caused by an assassin. Nearly recovered, but still on leave, Eric decides to revisit his childhood home after learning his foster mother had died. Roxanne inherited the farm, and though unable to foster the troubled boys that Maude used to take in, she is trying desperately to adopt one very troubled child. In order to do that, she has to make the rundown farm house fit for a child. Eric offers to help and when it seems Roxanne is about to lose the boy, agrees to marry her to boost her chances.

I read Harlequin / Silhouette romances mostly because they are very good at packing engaging (often emotionally intense) love stories into a shorter reading format. This romance by Ms. August was packed with emotion and wonderful characters, with some elements of suspense. Over all an enjoyable read.

[SandyL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric Bishop is a military policeman who worked for a secret union, and the story begins with him waking up from a 3 year coma after being ambushed. While trying to recover from being inactive for so long, he stops at the home where he grew up, a boys' home run by a woman named Maude. She recently passed away and he runs into Roxanne Dugan, who used to help Maude and has now inherited the house. Roxy is trying to spruce things up and trying to adopt one of the boys that Maude had been caring for (and was subsequently sent to a foster home.) Eric ends up helping her out, then marrying her so she can better qualify to adopt. This was a short book with a lot crammed into it and not much time to develop the characters.