Backward Glance

by Robyn Carr

Leigh Brackon is back home to look after her “ailing” mother. But she suspects maternal meddling when she finds her old flame John McElroy knee-deep in landscaping in her mum's backyard. Leigh and John's summer affair five years ago ended badly, and they're both leery of relationships after their own failed marriages. But John has always been drawn to Leigh, even though the handyman doubts he's good enough for the brilliant scientist and her twin boys. And Leigh has a secret that could change everything. But have they changed enough to have a real chance this time around?

With a little help from the neighborhood matchmakers, they might see that it isn't too late to find a way forward together.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Family, Ebooks, Chick Lit, Second Chance

104 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Robyn Carr is a RITA® Award-winning, eleven-time #1 New York Times bestselling author of over sixty novels, including the critically acclaimed Virgin River series and Sullivan's Crossing series. Robyn's new women's fiction novel, THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB, will be released in January 2024. The new hit Sullivan's Crossing TV series (season 1) inspired by Robyn's book series was released in the USA in the fall of 2023! Plus, season 5 of the worldwide fan-favorite Virgin River TV Series is now streaming on Netflix (July 2023) with two holiday episodes coming November 30, 2023. Both TV series have been renewed for another season!
Robyn is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award 2016, and in 2017, VIRGIN RIVER was named one of the HarperCollins 200 Iconic Books of the past 200 years. Robyn currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can visit Robyn Carr's website at https://www.robyncarr.com/.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute second-chance romance between brilliant scientist Leigh Brackon and landscaper/handyman John McElroy. Leigh’s got a very meddling matchmaking mother who pretends to have a heart condition to get Leigh back home. Leigh’s mother then hires John for some landscaping work so Leigh and John cannot avoid each other since she’s pretty sure John is the father (unbeknownst to him) of Leigh’s four-year-old twin boys from a fling they had years back. Fun short story with enjoyable characters in this nice and easy read.

[Marleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this cutesy romance short story, we meet John McElroy, a Mr. Fix-it, handyman, landscaper and Dr. Leigh Brackon, Phd., who had an improbable love fling five years ago when Leigh visited her mother in Durango, a small town in Colorado. Due to Leigh's high intellect and scholarly upbringing, she was rather shielded from any social life and is not accustomed to deal with people. In other words, she lives her life on another plane.
Now five years later, thanks to her mother's ploy, Leigh is back in Durango. Both Leigh and John still have feelings for each other - and it appears that Leigh has twin boys who look suspiciously like John.
I didn't altogether buy the chemistry between Leigh and John - although we draw on wise lessons in love that apply to any relationship : understanding, compromise, patience, communication and common sense; values we should all maintain.
I enjoyed and loved John's family! His siblings and parents are gold. I just wish they were a bigger part of the story. Overall, I couldn't empathize with the characters in this book. I wonder, is this an earlier work by Robyn Carr? I don't know. **2,5 stars**

[Reni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favourites

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little read. Loved the widows' brigade. ;)

[Sindhu S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Robyn Carr's other books

[E-Reader Addict · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Robyn Carr (and have read almost all of her books) but this one didn’t even seem like it was written by one of my favorite authors. It was apparently first released as part of an anthology in 2001, so this predates Virgin River by several years, which explains A LOT. Still, I could barely get through this one - and it is only about 130 pages long.

I one-clicked this one when I saw it was on sale and dove right in. Next time I’ll remember that even my favorite authors need a quick glance at reviews and preview read before spending money and time.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mom plays matchmaker for her idiot savant daughter. Okay, she is not an idiot savant, she is just someone who is so smart she has no common sense, and frankly, no idea of how to go on in the world. She is single and has twin sons.
The man Mom picks for her just happens to be the father of those twins. Not that he knows that.
So, this is a strange romance that harkens back to the days of 1970s and 80s romances that were full of men learning that they were - surprise! - Daddies.
Robyn Carr did this story better in one of her Virgin River novels. I would like to tell you which one, but I cannot, because all her Virgin River books have titles that give you not one damn clue about what the book is about. Like:
Noble Forest
Splendid High Places
Sweet Harvest

[Becky Tatar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another matchmaking mama (see Maria Ferrarella's books), and a genius child/adult who can't function well in everyday life. Add secret pregnancy, resulting in twins, and that's the set up for this. Leigh is back in Colorado to help her supposedly ailing mother. However, her mom, along with her mom's three friends, has concocted a plot to get Leigh and her two boys back to Colorado, hook up with the probable father of said boys, John McElroy, and live happily ever after.
I am so tired of matchmaking mamas. And frankly, the genius child/adult bit has been done better, for example, see Nora Roberts books The Witness, The Fall of Shane McKade, or Linda Howard's MacKenzie's Mission. I like Robin Carr, but this was a disappointment.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a horrible short story. I don't really like any story where a woman is selfish enough not to inform a man that he's to become/is a father. In addition, the main characters are awful - I couldn't stand either one. Leigh's character was completely unbelievable and unlikable. She's a socially awkward genius who thinks she's too good to be with a handyman so dumps him then finds out she's pregnant & takes 4 years to let John know - and even then chickens out time & again until he just figures it out on his own rather than Leigh having the backbone to tell him. The couple is way too different and has zero chance of making it work out. I'm disappointed I had to even give this story one star because it was so bad.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two very mismatched people, a genius and a handyman. How could it work? But it does. Robyn is truly masterful in how she weaves them together. John is a laborer in the summer and on ski patrol in the winter while Leigh is a brilliant scientist whose emotional IQ doesn't even come close to her intellectual capacity. She returns to town with twin four year old boys and her mother, along with her three cronies, tries to marry her off to John. Those side characters are a hoot and add a lightness to the story. I love Robyn Carr and this second chance romance is another fun novella to add to my collection!

[SHANNON YOUNG · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

The 3rd person narrative style was very high level and distant, making it very hard to feel invested or engaged with the characters. A lot is described rather than shown. Leigh's decision to keep her pregnancy a secret never made sense and certainly wasn't justified. I'm not convinced that she ever truly understood the impact of the lost time with his children. In the end, the plot seemed very contrived "for romance reasons."

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reprint of an early Carr book, from before any Virgin River books. It's a cute, lighthearted story about a girl who never knew how to relate to boys and the boy who yanked her out of her child-genius shell. They had a fling years ago, and now Mom is plotting, with the help of her Widows Club, to throw them together again. I got a kick out of it.

[Susan D · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read three quarters of the book but couldn’t finish. It read like a very long synopsis. Leigh was weak and hesitant and John overbearing and bossy - he was always so angry with her, there didn’t seem to be anything he liked about her except the sex. Jess (Leigh’s mother) and her friends were just an annoying by play. Not for me.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a simple, enjoyable little story populated with likable people. The storyline feels familiar and I'm glad the author pretty much came directly to the resolution of the story without too much angst..

[Nancy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and quick romance read, this story has two people who had previously known each other years earlier, meet again through some machinations of the woman's mother, and get to know each other all over again with some big surprises for the guy. A very good read.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute short story, where a simple Fix-it guy falls for an intellectual girl. It seemed improbable romance to me as they have nothing in common. But maybe that is the attraction?
Not one of my favorites.

[MaryAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like I was reading a cliff note of the book. Here's the characters, and here's the ending. No suspense, no surprise, VERY predictable. Blah. Only gave it two stars because I like Robyn Carr books, but it really deserved one.

[JeanSwainey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as other Robyn Carr books

I love the series books Carr has written, esp. the Thunder Point and Virgin River books. This book was very weak…. Annoying secondary characters and unlikeable main characters. It wasn’t worth the money.

[Cathie McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny story. Leigh is extremely smart like her dad. She doesn't know how to do relationships. John loves her but doesn't feel he can measure up to her brilliance. Four years later, John gets a surprise.
Jess and her widowed friends are a riot.

[Susanne Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best for me. I thought this was part of the Virgin river series as it was with two other short stories but it seemed completely separate. Whilst I liked that Leigh and John found love in each other, the secret twin boys paternity issue wasn’t for me.

[Orsona Shinn]

Qur’an: Chapter 42, Verse 44, 45—
You will see wrongdoers saying, once they have seen the torment: “Is there any way to turn back?” You will see them solemnly trying to avoid it because of the disgrace they feel as they try to steal furtive glances at it.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet

Sweet love story. Speedy read. Always enjoy Robyn Carr and I wasn't disappointed. The only complaint I could ever have it it's never long enough! 😊

[Luv_a_good_story · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short

[Barbara Crump · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story of difference in love.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I've read this before. I liked the story.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute short story

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting more from this book. Still a decent story, but I could tell what was going to happen before it did.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

Cute short story. Easy read. Loveable characters. Set in a small town with lots of friendly people and extended family.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit too saccharine and hackneyed for me. It was ok, though.

[jill hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable but sweet