Jake's Return

by Liana Laverentz

The last person small town bad boy Jacob Donovan expects to find when he returns home in disgrace after serving time is Rebecca Reed, head librarian. Rebecca had always had much bigger ambitions. Jake hadn't wanted to stand in her way, so after one night of passion with his former best friend, he'd hit the open road. Rebecca refuses to believe Jake is guilty of murder. The boy who'd been her friend and protector when they were town outcasts together could never have killed a woman. Not to mention the tender, loving man who'd given her their daughter, Katie. But who is Jake now? That's what everyone wants to know, including the town council chairman, who is determined to send Jake back to prison, by any means available. Jake's been running from love for all of his life. Will he find the courage to defeat his demons and stay this time?

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Liana is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Washington Romance Writers, and Pennwriters, Inc. She spends her free time reading, weeding, making soup, watching Law and Order, taking road trips, and staying at as many bed and breakfasts as she can.

Reviews

[Auntee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read by this author and it was a pretty good one. It had a pretty unusual plot, was well paced, had a very strong heroine, and even had some suspenseful twists and turns. A little light in the romantic scenes, and the hero frustrated me a bit, but all in all...not a bad read.

Jake's 30-ish, an Army veteran, and has been in prison for the last 8 years for a murder he may or may not have committed. Jake's had a crappy childhood growing up with a rich but unstable mother who committed suicide when he was young, and a father who took to the bottle after that and was never really there for him. Jake was neglected, felt isolated and unloved, and got into lots of trouble as a kid.

Rebecca moved to town and to the house next door to Jake when she was ten. She had an equally sad life with a "loose" mother and never knew who her father was. Rebecca and Jake developed a strong friendship that grew to 'almost' something more in their teenage years. But Jake got into a lot of trouble as a teen, and the local law strongly suggested he get out of town and join the military. Rebecca shared her dreams with Jake of one day going to college, living in a big house, with money and a big family. Jake just wants to get out of town and have his freedom from the life he's leading. Despite his feelings for Rebecca, Jake feels by sticking around he'll just hold her back and get in the way of her dreams. So he takes off for the Army.

One night years later after serving his time in the Army, Jake goes to visit Rebecca at her college, and they give in to their feelings and make love. It's better than Jake ever dreamed, but Rebecca is engaged to a rich guy, and Jake doesn't want to ruin all the dreams that may come true for her. So he takes off across the country, trying to forget her. He ends up drinking in a Wyoming bar with a woman (who looks like Rebecca) who's trying to get over her boyfriend, and they head back to her place. Jake can't go through with the intended sex--he passes out on her couch, but when he wakes up the next day, he finds that the woman has been murdered. Did he do it?

Well, the police and local prosecuters think he did, and Jake's convicted of murder. He serves eight years in prison, is out on parole, and is headed to his Pennsylvania home to sell the house he inherited from his late father. Jake wants to sell it as fast as he can, because he has no intentions of staying in the small, judgmental town that holds such unhappy memories for him. But then he runs into Rebecca, who's working at the local library, and everything changes for him.

Rebecca's never gotten over her first love, but Jake has let her down so many times before, so even though the spark's still there, she's not holding her breath. But Rebecca's got a big secret that may influence Jake's whole way of thinking. Maybe he can go home again, if he's able to put the past firmly in the past, and finally look to the future. But there's one influential person in town who's bound and determined to see that Jake doesn't hang around for long...

Good strory here. I loved the heroine--she was strong, loving, devoted, and no-nonsense. She didn't whine or plead or pout when she didn't get her way, she just dug in and made the best of things. I really admired her. Now Jake? I had a little problem with him. Yes, he had a raw deal in life, and I felt sorry for him, but at times he was such a 'Debbie Downer'...his attitude was the pits! I kept thinking to myself "Why?" "Why can't you have what you want?" "You love Rebecca, you think she loves you--what's stopping you? Just TRY, for the love of God!" Make an effort already, why don't you? It wasn't until nearly the end of the book that Jake finally snapped out of it and made a real effort, and fought for what he wanted. Thank God Rebecca was a patient and forgiving person, because I'm not too sure what would have happened to Jake.

As I mentioned this story kind of skimped on the love scenes--I believe there was only one major one, although there was some lusting and fantasizing going on, but everything was sort of PG-13. Which was okay with me, because there was enough going on in the story to hold my interest, but a few more love scenes tacked on certainly wouldn't have hurt the story!

So besides me wanting to give Jake a little push now and then, and getting a little tired of his defeatist attitude, I did enjoy this book. I'd definitely give this author another chance to wow me. 4 stars

[Karielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake's Return by Liana Laverentz
Release Date: October 19th, 2009
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Page Count: 203
Source: Directly from author for review

The last person small town bad boy Jacob Donovan expects to find when he returns home in disgrace after serving time is Rebecca Reed, head librarian. Rebecca had always had much bigger ambitions. Jake hadn't wanted to stand in her way, so after one night of passion with his former best friend, he'd hit the open road.

Rebecca refuses to believe Jake is guilty of murder. The boy who'd been her friend and protector when they were town outcasts together could never have killed a woman. Not to mention the tender, loving man who'd given her their daughter, Katie.

But who is Jake now? That's what everyone wants to know, including the town council chairman, who is determined to send Jake back to prison, by any means available.

Jake's been running from love for all of his life. Will he find the courage to defeat his demons and stay this time?

What Stephanie Thinks: Laverentz does it again! I was so pleased with Thin Ice, which I reviewed back in August, and even more thrilled when Liana contacted me asking if I'd like to review her other books too. I love her writing style, as well as the realistic, yet still edgy and intriguing contortions in her stories. Jake's Return once again impressed me with its essentially Lavarentzian elements: the perfect villain and the perfect crime; childhood sweethearts, Rebecca and Jake, who only spared one hot night together; and most riveting of all: a burden of proof created between them, which publicly acknowledges the intensity of their love, thus counteracting all denials of it. You don't get any better than that.

The plot is just complicated enough, involving a love child and a scandalous homecoming, but it's simple and straightforward -- nothing confusing and nothing TOO deep. The frisson between Rebecca and Jake absolutely sucks me in. Each of them, as characters, come to life from the pages, making me fall in love with them, even with all their flaws. And of course there's little Katie. Lavarentz has a knack of tugging at your heart by using adorable irresistible children. How very, very manipulative of her.

Overall this book was the perfect blend of suspense, airy questions, and heat. I loved it, but the only complaint I have is that Jake and Rebecca's relationship was so coy -- there was so much of 'you deserve better than me's and 'I love you but won't ever tell's that seemed a bit immature at their age. This isn't a high school romance; I felt both Jake and Rebecca, as adults, should have been able to voice their feelings better, no matter how difficult it is to admit to falling in love. It was frustrating for me as the reader because the sexual tension made me want them to get together already, dammit! I like sexual tension in a story, but this as a whole was more irritating than it was suspenseful. And it was sort of encompassing because the whole book revolves around the relationship. Nothing that upset me too much, but was just spread throughout.

If you're looking for a romance that's not ALL romance, but also family sentiment, small-town values, and thundering suspense; if you're looking for a book that surrounds two very lost and very in love characters who learn to make the best of what they have -- especially in circumstances and disasters they have no control over -- I would totally recommend Jake's Return. I love the fuzzy feeling I get when I read Lavarentz's stories. I guarantee you will too.

Stephanie Loves: "Her all-out smile did dangerous things to his libido."

Radical Rating: 8 hearts-Would recommend to lots of really good friends.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre Contemporary Romance; My Rating: 4.25 of 5
Rebecca Reed and Jacob Donovan were best pals who helped take care of each other as they grew up as the small town outcasts. Rebecca had never known her father and her mother left her when she turned 16. Rebecca was headed to college with dreams to ultimately end up in one of the big, beautiful homes across town with a wealthy husband and children to raise.

Jake was a wild boy especially after his mother died when he was a pre teen and his father turned to the bottle. As soon as he was old enough, and with the encouragement of the local law, Jake took off for the Army leaving Rebecca behind.

After four years in the army, Jake ran into Rebecca one night while she was in college and soon to be engaged. In spite of a wonderful night together, Jake takes off the next morning without even a goodbye. Rebecca feels abandoned but Jake thinks he is doing her a favor by not getting in the way of her dreams. Unfortunately Jake’s run ends up with him convicted of murder and sent to jail.

Eight years later he returns home to fix and sell the house he has inherited from his father. He is surprised to find Rebecca in town as head librarian and living next door with a seven year old beautiful daughter. Rebecca is afraid that Jake will reject her and his daughter Katie and that looks to be how it will go as Jake plans to fix the house and take off again. Jake sees himself as a man in disgrace and doesn’t want his scandalous reputation to rub off on Rebecca who has at least made a good life for herself.

Rebecca and Jake work at cross purposes and it takes them awhile to start to come together even though they have always cared for each other. Rebecca has to be brave and risk rejection since she believes she is not lovable. Jake has to be willing to stop running away from problems and responsibilities.

I found this to be a very wonderful and warm read. The characters were well developed with their pain and vulnerability and the story flowed smoothly (for the reader if not for Rebecca and Jake!) The sexual tension and love scenes were handled beautifully. I thoroughly enjoyed the underlying sense of love throughout the story, and it had me anticipating when the characters would find the courage to recognize their need for each other! I look forward to more stories from this author.

[Suzie Quint · Rating 2 out of 5]

In spite of hating the secret-baby trope, this wasn't a bad book until the end when the the hero has a sudden personality transplant. Through the entire book, he refuses to share his thoughts out loud. Through the entire book, he believes he doesn't have anything to offer the heroine and that, in spite of admitting to himself repeatedly how much he wants her, he can't believe she wants him. This even though she's made it pretty damn plain in so many ways. At the end, he has an epiphany. Totally unmotivated. He also suddenly becomes a chatty Cathy and explains his thought processes to the heroine. It's romance's version of the villain, believing there is no way for the hero to be rescued, explains himself so the reader can understand how clever the writer...er, I mean, the villain has been. A totally artificial and unsatisfying means of reaching the prescribed ending. Blah.

[Leanne Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake protects the woman he loves, heart and soul, by denying that love. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s been in prison. He’s not good enough for her, he thinks. Rebecca knows better. She knows him. And she won’t give up on him. Jake is a good man, behind who is a strong woman. Their history stands in the way of their future--until Jake is forced to re-examine his past, in possession of the all the facts, and realise that his childhood shaped his future. That he was never unworthy of love, but that other people weren't capable of giving that love, because they were broken. And he couldn’t fix them. The story deals with prejudice and is utterly gripping. Jake’s Return is a page turner and a tearjerker, and definitely a must-read.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall it was a a very good read. I was hooked from the excerpt. I felt the characters were well written and their inner turmoils could be connected with by many. I think we all have self doubts from time to time and I could relate to both characters' uncertainties. I thought that Becca's and Jake's connection to one another could have been elaborated a bit more and that the love scenes should have been described a bit better - not so much as sexual details just the feeling depicted a bit more they felt sort of rushed. Also the ending needed a tiny bit more. Overall though I really enjoyed it and hope to read more of Liana's works.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was riciculous. It had no descriptions. It was mostly dialogue with nothing else. The characters felt sooo fake I couldn't forget for one second I was reading a book. I felt no connection between Jake and Rebecca. It was forced and stupid.

Katie, their daughter, had no personality. She was just there.

What annoyed me the most was that Katie was NEVER told that Jake was her father! I mean, are you kidding? That's the whole reason I kept reading the book!

The resolution was rushed and silly and anticlimactic. I'm not sure how anyone could enjoy this book.

[Dinjolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice steady read.
The only problem?
I really wanted to strangle Jake.
The heroine was pushy at times, sure, but the hero?
Oh, where do I start about the hero?
If his reasoning were more stupid I would have expired of frustration.
Plus, all his love love love LOVE kind of took the back seat when it came to all the girls he...khm...as a teen (in the heroines swimming pool for God's sake!) right up to his 'I have to leave' delusions.
Sad, really.

Nevertheless it was a worthy read.

[Linda Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can you move forward when you can't escape the past? Ms. Laverentz does an amazing job of showing how even a deep, abiding love can't overcome obstacles if Jake and Becca aren't willing to let it. If you're looking for an emotionally stirring story that will leave you rooting for a well deserved happily-ever-after look no further than Jake's Return.

[Lhenry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this one rather frustrating. They both tended to react to circumstances rather than actively do something . Of course people are like that in Real Life, so I on't think this was a bad book or anything - just not the most super enjoyable read.

[Michelle [Helen Geek]]

Author of Thin Ice.