Return Engagement

by Lynn Michaels

Love is sweeter the second time around. . . .


Act One: Girl Leaves Boy
Lindsay West may have the face of a Hollywood starlet, but the demanding life of a teen celebrity never suited her. So nearly twenty years ago, she left her hit TV show and returned to her hometown of Belle Coeur, Missouri. Now Lindsay takes a role in a new play at a regional theater, unaware that she’ll be sharing the stage with her former cast mate, one-time heartthrob Noah Patrick.

Act Two: Boy Tries to Win Back Girl
Noah Patrick took the gig at the Belle Coeur Theater hoping it would help revive his stalled career–but it was his heart that got the jumpstart. Playing opposite the beautiful and enigmatic Lindsay, he begins to understand that fame is fickle and fortune is fleeting but true love lasts. Growing up together on the set of the show that made them both stars, Noah didn’t give Lindsay much thought. But now she has grown into someone impossible to forget.

Act Three: Anyone’s Guess
Fighting off man-eating bears, Lindsay’s quirky family, and a pretty serious case of pneumonia, Noah will do whatever it takes to prove that this former bad boy has turned into a man Lindsay can love . . . before the curtain falls!

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

My first book was published in 1984 when I was 12. Why are you laughing? Since then I've published 16 books and 2 novellas: two Regencies originally written as Jane Lynson, one paranormal romantic suspense as Paula Christopher and everything else as Lynn Michaels. My husband Michael warned me never to dedicate a book to him, so instead I stole his name for my pseudonym.

Michael and I have 2 grown sons and 1 grandson. We live in Harry Truman's hometown, Independence, Missouri.

Reviews

[Barbara Elsborg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Rather like Susan Elizabeth Phillips and I love her too. This was a fun romp and it reminded me of my story - Strangers - which also starts with the hero trying to commit suicide and - damn me - the ending was also similar. But I hadn't read this until today and I devoured it!!! Everything I like - humour, interesting characters, intriguing set up, great writing. I fell in love with Noah and Lindsay. I will read EVERYTHING this author has written now.
It might feel old fashioned to some readers - compared to the gritty stuff that is in favour these days, it's quite tame but I just adored it. A gentle romance with a deep issue at its core. And it uses a trope - a generally don't like - won't say what - but I was happy to go with it here.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely not the book I was expecting from the blurb on the back. It was more a story of a man who was on top, hit rock bottom hard, was given a chance and dug his way out. Noah and Lindsay were big TV stars 20 years ago and had a hit teen series. Lindsay left Hollywood for her home town and has a happy life there. Noah was a train wreck in Hollywood and when the series ended he continued his descent down. When the book opens he's lost everything, been destitute for a while, was a full blown alcoholic who's lost a lot of memories and is laying down in the waves on the beach trying to drown himself. Fortunately for him Lindsay's mother (who is a top agent) finds him at this point and offers him a deal - she'll pay for him to pull himself together if he'll star in a play with Lindsay. He doesn't know that Lindsay has no clue this is happening. There's a lot of family drama, lots of humor, lots of great characters and old secrets that come out. This is the first book I've read by Lynn Michaels and I'm looking forward to reading more. One good thing that's come out of the pandemic and only being able to get to the library once a month is it's making me read my own books that i didn't have time to before and discovering new authors I like.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book a few minutes ago and am still smiling! I loved it!! I fell in love with Lindsay and Noah and their day to day adventures! If two people never should have met again, it would have been these two!! But Noah doesn't give up!! He is very persistent and Lyndsay can not resist him!! The ending was awesome, Lynn wrapped it up very nicely. All in all, I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good old fashioned romantic comedy!!!

[Lis N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book not knowing what I was signing up for and was pleasantly surprised! The dialogue’s great and the characters are kooky, there were moments that literally made me laugh out loud. I genuinely enjoyed 80% of the book but the final 20% felt so rushed, it kinda dampened it for me.

Towards the end it felt like everything was pretty much solved by a couple of phone calls. The play they talked so much about wrapped up in 1-2 pages (sure, maybe the play wasn’t the point of the story but the writing got me really invested that I expected something would happen during - I’m probably just nitpicking though!)

Also really wished Vivienne & Jolie’s characters got a better written redemption or some sort. Like I said, it all felt rushed. The ending & epilogue felt like everything wrapped way too neatly (and a little bit corny - earlier parts of the book felt more wholesome and campy and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book).

I’m giving it a 4/5 because I extremely enjoyed the majority of the book but man I wished the ending was more fleshed out. Wouldn’t have minded if it made the book a tad longer, Lynn Michaels’ writing is fun to read.

[Ireland · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. I loved the dialogue. I realize that is what has been missing in the last dozen books I've read. You can have story, dialogue, or writing, but rarely all of them together. There was a story here, but it was heavy-handed and repetitious. The writing was fine. I did not like the heroine, Lindsey. I could not relate to her. I loved Noah, and that is what I really read these romances for, to fall in love. Somehow, even his 'reader' glasses seemed sexy, go figure. There was an uncomfortable family 'gift' that I could have done without. Lindsey's family were the most interesting characters, I would love to see them in a movie. Except for her sister and mother, who were terrible beyond belief. The teenage son, Trey, was a 15-year-old charmer, you will be cheering for him from the first page.

[Shere Greene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this one. The intimate scenes were quite enjoyable ...LOL! Other than that, I didn’t like it. It pained my way through it and it took me four long months. I didn’t put it down because I was invested. Worst usage of my time

[Christina Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of all times

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noah Patrick is a washed up has been who is trying to end it all. But he changes his mind and then stumbles across an acquaintance, Vivienne, from the past who offers him an opportunity to get his Hollywood career back on track. All he has to do is straighten up and fulfill her contract. Noah feels it is no sweat and agrees to her terms. Then he shows up in a small town in Missouri and is greeted by a junior version of the wicked witch that proposed the contract to him, Jolene. Jolene, Vivienne’s daughter, makes life difficult but she isn’t the one he is to do the play with; nope, that would be Lindsay, Vivienne's other daughter. Noah can’t really remember Lindsay from their time together 16 years ago when they starred on the hit sitcom that brought him fame which he had thrown away for alcohol. Nor does he remember the one night that he showed Lindsay how much of a sleaze he could really be.

Lindsay had never wanted to become an actress. It was what her mother wanted of her and so she was forced to go along for the ride. But as soon as she turned eighteen and tried her hand at a bit of rebellion only to get her heart broke, she fled back to Belle Coeur, Missouri to marry her childhood sweetheart . . . the safe choice. Seven years into their marriage, Mark dies, and Lindsay becomes more repressed and continues to raise their only child Trey. Lindsay has agreed to perform in the play that her sister, Jolene, wrote and will direct to help save the family theatre for Jolene. However, she is shocked to discover she will be playing opposite Noah Patrick whom she hasn’t seen nor heard from in the past 16 years! Not since he treated her so coldly the morning after her 18th birthday. Lindsay has to bit her tongue and continue with her agreement for her sister to make up for the fact that their mother took her to Hollywood and left Jolene behind to harbor and nurse a grudge over the years.

With all this family drama going on you would think this would be too much for this book to carry, but you would be wrong. Noah did redeem himself over the years and you do feel sorry for him for what he had gone through, but you understand that where he was going with his life he needed to hit bottom before he could even start to come up. I liked that even though people underestimated him he wasn’t a dummy and put things together pretty quickly. Even Lindsay put things together and I was rooting for her to finally stand up to some of those bullies that continued to play on her feelings of guilt. Yet I truly trusted her when she said NO MORE because she held with that over the years with her mother. However, it seems she didn’t stick with that. Both Noah and Lindsay were likeable characters and Trey, Lindsay’s 15 year old son, just added to the mix. But Lindsay’s family . . . oh some of them were hilarious and you were left wondering what nonsense they would get up to next. I have to say that the whole naming of something called Chaos tended to lose my interest some as it wasn’t really clicking with its definition for me very well. But this didn’t detract from the story at all. I would have liked some of the villains to have realized their mistakes and perhaps made more of an effort to change instead of seeming to get all they want . . . well some of them did, but that isn’t too be. But the HEA was worthwhile and I really enjoyed the sensitivity and growth of Noah as he changed from what Lindsay knew him to truly be. I also liked that she did let go of some things and realized that just because she did it didn’t mean she would turn into her mother. That sometimes not being so repressed is a good thing!


POSSIBLE SPOILER: There is a secret that is revealed, but all were surprised with the revelation and no one was truly guilty of keeping the secret . . . well not the parties directly related to the secret. And the author even made it sound a little okay and more palatable for some of the involved parties. Showing once again, the growth of some of the characters, in seeing things from a different perspective and that sometimes things work out for the better. END SPOILER

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Return Engagement was the story of the reuniting on stage two child TV stars in a small town in Missouri. When Noah last saw Lindsey, he left her in a world of hurt and it follows the pair 15 years later as they try to sort out their feelings for one another.

I found Return Engagement to be a very cute, heartwarming story. I definitely enjoyed the antics of the two main characters as well as most of Lindsey's family. The only part I found a little "off" was the two villains: Lindsey's sister, Jolie and Lindsey's mother, Vivian (or Vivienne as she likes to be called). I know they were supposed to be mean and ruthless, but there was absolutely no redeeming qualities to them. After awhile it made me question why bother associating with them at all.

Aside from that minor detail, Return Engagement was a good book and worth the read. I enjoyed it very much.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really wishing I could give 3.5 stars. I don't read a lot of romance books, so I'm not very familiar with how they are usually plotted out. I really liked the first 3/4's of the book. I liked the story, I liked the charaters, but then the whole book seemed to change gears. It went from a nice little story to torid love scenes. I didn't feel that there was enough transition from flirty to bodice ripping, and it jarred me. The ending was, for me, a little to neat. The villians were a little to unknown. I would have liked more from them. I liked the story and it did pull me in from the get-go.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the story started off a little slow and there were many characters introduced quite quickly. It definitely picked up but I think the story stalled out some in the middle with all of the love scenes between Lindsey and Noah. I know that was an important part of the story, but I would have been happier hearing about the lives of the other characters in the book as well reading more about the conflicts between Jolie, Vivienne, Lindsey, Noah, and the other family members. It was a cute story and a pretty good mix of romance and comedy.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the 2 main characters, especially their bantering quips and antics. Nice to see that Noah worked to get himself back on track and wasn't someone who thought he was "owed" something. I could have done without so much of the colorful language, and the bodice-ripper sex ... not really what I like to read... but overall was a pretty good story.

[Mom2jngncna~ Stephannie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to start this book on two seperate ocassions. The farthest I ever made it was page 20. I don't think it was the book or the author. I just couldn't get characters out of my head from a book I had finished that was part of a series.
Like with all books, I will pick it up again and give it another shot. I only gave up this time so it could get moved onto the next reader.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very light, sweet, and fluffy romance. Not my usual genre, but a somewhat enjoyable read. I enjoyed the different characters and what they brought to the story, however, I had a hard time with the love-hate-back-and-forth relationship between Noah and Lindsay. Just thought the book was ok.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet story from being outside my normal genre likes. I am happy I expanded it for this author.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story I wish it was better written.

[Dianne Salzwedel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Teenage stars together again

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! One of my favorites, I plan on reading this for the third time after I finish all the new books I have purchased.

[Carla J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story line of second chances...acting careers and true love. These characters are quirky and fun.

[Soundra Fulton]

LOVE Lynn Michaels' quirky characters. Laughed out loud several times in this story.

[Brian Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

every once in a while I pull down one of my wife's romance novels. This one has several things to recommend it - the presentation of the recovering alcoholic former TV star is engaging, and the family politics are solidly done - and some things that weren't really needed - the strange ESPer sensitivities in the family - but the whole holds together well.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the storyline. From down and out to getting back his life.