Best Behavior

by Jackie Weger

Willa Manning longed to give her beloved adopted daughter the grandparents she dreamed of, but not at the risk of losing her forever. Nicholas Cavenaugh understood Willa's reservations, but he'd promised to bring his friends the child their lost daughter had borne so far from home. Fate, which had brought Nicholas and Willa together, had put them on opposite sides in the only struggle that could tear them apart. Would good intentions, good sense and abiding love be enough to see them through?

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1990

About the author

I would rather write an obit than my bio, mostly because I'm one of the most boring souls you'll ever meet. I have been to interesting places and met interesting people, but none of it rubbed off on me. Some of those places and some of those people found their way into characters or settings in my romance novels which lends me about an inch of panache--on the table below the salt. With family or solo, I've traveled since I was about eleven. I spent years living abroad in Central America in little jungle villages absorbing the native culture and language. I spent months on off-islands and sailed in the Pacific with a friend until his sloop sank--not with us on it--thank goodness. I spent a New Year's in Montreal, a summer semester in the U.K and a few glorious days in Paris before returning Stateside to finish a degree in history, then it was off to Panama and Costa Rica. While my passport is always handy, I've settled down in Texas to be near my family. Since I'm sitting still, I've plugged in my laptop and started writing again. After an absence of a few years, I've jumped back into the publishing world which has changed dramatically. I love the changes. In the past, category romance novels had a shelf life between yogurt and ice cream, but with the advent of e-books they can live on the Web for years. I'm excited to be publishing my backlist. I'm working on a new novel. I live with a man, a dog, seven feral cats and go to Bingo on Friday night. The most exciting thing that's happened in my life recently is a cow wandered into my yard and ate my garden. See what I mean about being boring?

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was first published back in 1990. That being said, there are a couple of things that just didn't make sense to me.

Susan, the daughter of the Elliotts, died after giving birth to a girl. It was determined in the end that she suffered from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I believe this was something fairly new and that very little was known about it back then. That being said, it still doesn't explain why she lived on the streets, nearly died of starvation or why she died after giving birth.

The fact that a neighbour reported a mother to the State welfare department because the woman did not feed her teenage son hot dogs or hamburgers, or sweets, deciding to feed her son healthy vegetarian meals was absolutely asinine. Honestly, this had to the dumbest thing I've ever read. I don't care if this novel was written in 1990, but to report a loving mother over this? It deserves a huge WTF moment along with several eye-rolls. I really should've chucked this one.

As for the actual story? A total yawn-fest. The so-called romance between the H/h was laughable. No sparks, passion, or sizzle. They had a difference of opinion every time they met, which led to one party to get upset and leave. After two months of this, marriage is proposed. WTF!! This is not what I'd call romance. Enough. I need to move on and let this one go.