A stern, rock-hard man stood before Abaigeal Sullivan. No sign of the boy whose playful teases had once turned to stolen kisses and something much, much more. Why, in all the years Joshua Wheaton had been away, had he never made contact, acknowledged her astounding news—that she carried his child?
Abby no longer trusted any man, but could she believe Joshua when he claimed he only ever meant to act honorably toward her? There was no doubt he wanted to get closer to her and the son that they had created together.
I was sucked in from the start - loved the characters, set up and wondering what the back story was. It kept me engaged and interested in the romance and the mining subplot throughout, and was really filled with excellent tension (sexual and otherwise). It'd definitely be a five star if not for the poor handling of the villain "foreshadow" bits (bludgeoned us with a jackhammer, she did, and not in very logical places either) and the fact that Josh occasionally became the 80s style alpha male. Those bits especially drove me nuts, because he was otherwise written so well and then those out of character anger moments would rise up, bah. Loved Abby unreservedly, thought Helena wonderful, loved Josh most of the time and wished that the author had done a better job with Daniel's changing feelings. Overall, though, thumbs up.
An okay book, I enjoyed the explanations about mining in the US. I did find Abby a bit tiresome though and I kept feeling sorry for Joshua who was totally ill-treated by her and everyone else. Their problems were just a bit too much really.
This was pretty miserable I read chunks - not the whole thing. I just couldn't get into the characters and scenario. Their attitudes were far too modern for an 1800's coal mining town.