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Love Unexpected
Solitary Man
A "Love Unexpected" Novel ...
When tough Boston cop Kevin Manning promised to care for his fatally wounded partner's family, an unexpected one night stand with the man's grieving sister wasn't part of the plan. No matter how intense the night had been, a woman like Nikki Welles deserves much more than a broken man like Kevin can give, and he leaves the next day. When he returns months later, he discovers everything has changed. Nikki can't regret the baby she's now carrying but she can't forgive Kevin for abandoning her either. Will their unexpected baby teach Kevin he's worthy of love and bring these two unlikely lovers together?
When tough Boston cop Kevin Manning promised to care for his fatally wounded partner's family, an unexpected one night stand with the man's grieving sister wasn't part of the plan. No matter how intense the night had been, a woman like Nikki Welles deserves much more than a broken man like Kevin can give, and he leaves the next day. When he returns months later, he discovers everything has changed. Nikki can't regret the baby she's now carrying but she can't forgive Kevin for abandoning her either. Will their unexpected baby teach Kevin he's worthy of love and bring these two unlikely lovers together?
288 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
17 people are currently reading
738 people want to read
About the author
Karen Drogin
6 books19 followersKaren Drogin had three books published under her real name; she has subsequently published under the pseudonym Carly Phillips.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 3, 2011
Ugh a reprint of an old, bad Harlequin series romance. Every bad cliche including a narcissistic hero who is the responsible for all the bad in the world. Even bad choices of other people, because you know.... if he'd only been there, he'd save the world. Yuck- add controlling, unintended pregnancy, and off we go. This is the type of book that give a great genre a bad name.
December 1, 2022
Did not finish. Everyone is stupid. Then there's the scene where he barges into a Planned Parenthood exam room to try and talk her out of an abortion even though she was there for prenatal care. I'd like to point out to anyone who doesn't live under a rock that PP deals with A LOT of threats. Daily. There's no way AnYoNe would get into a room with a patient and doctor.
edit: changed one word for clarity
edit: changed one word for clarity
August 17, 2011
Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
Independence, so long desired and worked toward, gets deferred for Nikki. She has always felt she was taken care of out of obligation rather than love. She doesn’t want to be anybody else’s responsibility. She wants to take care of herself and is well on her way to being able to so when her brother Tony, a policeman, is killed. She goes to see Kevin Manning, Tony’s partner. In their grief, emotions run high and events of that one night change both their lives forever.
Kevin, the son of an alcoholic father, has all the classic hang-ups. He anticipates problems when life is going smoothly, isolates himself, blames himself when things go wrong, has trouble with intimate relationships, and feels responsible for others—even Max, his father. Guilt is a demon that weights him down. In his efforts to control situations, he creates barriers that seem impregnable. Yet, his need to find a way to reach Nikki demands he take emotional risks that scare him to death.
Common sense dictates that Nikki yield to Kevin’s determination about doing “what’s right” but she wants what he gives to be from love not obligation. She reaches and reaches and he pulls away and pulls away until she realizes she needs to plan for the future that may well be without Kevin. She knows “you can’t base a lifetime on sex—no matter how good it is”. Life with all its ups and downs and in-betweens must be shared to make a marriage work.
Tony’s widow, Janine and Max, Kevin’s alcoholic father, are strong influences that help propel Kevin and Nikki into an emotional storm that threatens to swamp them.
Carly Phillips takes Kevin and Nikki on a modern “hero’s journey” that soars to emotional heights and traverses the depths of doubt and despair. The perils and the joys they experience bring to light some of modern society’s problems that must be dealt with by many.
Ms. Phillips grabs the reader’s attention at once and holds it captive with a story that takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Good reading!
Independence, so long desired and worked toward, gets deferred for Nikki. She has always felt she was taken care of out of obligation rather than love. She doesn’t want to be anybody else’s responsibility. She wants to take care of herself and is well on her way to being able to so when her brother Tony, a policeman, is killed. She goes to see Kevin Manning, Tony’s partner. In their grief, emotions run high and events of that one night change both their lives forever.
Kevin, the son of an alcoholic father, has all the classic hang-ups. He anticipates problems when life is going smoothly, isolates himself, blames himself when things go wrong, has trouble with intimate relationships, and feels responsible for others—even Max, his father. Guilt is a demon that weights him down. In his efforts to control situations, he creates barriers that seem impregnable. Yet, his need to find a way to reach Nikki demands he take emotional risks that scare him to death.
Common sense dictates that Nikki yield to Kevin’s determination about doing “what’s right” but she wants what he gives to be from love not obligation. She reaches and reaches and he pulls away and pulls away until she realizes she needs to plan for the future that may well be without Kevin. She knows “you can’t base a lifetime on sex—no matter how good it is”. Life with all its ups and downs and in-betweens must be shared to make a marriage work.
Tony’s widow, Janine and Max, Kevin’s alcoholic father, are strong influences that help propel Kevin and Nikki into an emotional storm that threatens to swamp them.
Carly Phillips takes Kevin and Nikki on a modern “hero’s journey” that soars to emotional heights and traverses the depths of doubt and despair. The perils and the joys they experience bring to light some of modern society’s problems that must be dealt with by many.
Ms. Phillips grabs the reader’s attention at once and holds it captive with a story that takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Good reading!
March 29, 2012
ok, i love Carly, but this one was just agonizing. So many horrible cliches. Sex scenes bad. Writing stilted and just plain confusing at times with word choice. The kind of book that makes me think if this got published, I could too! LOL! It was obvious that this was an early sample of a Carly book, and that girl is the type that improves with practice. Was very disappointing.
June 19, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. If you are a child, spouse, friend, relative, etc... This book will so touch home for you. I could relate on so many levels. I had been the friend who sat back & watch a friend who watched a friend go through relationships like this of co-dependency. I have gone through this, family members have which has caused warped relationships. But as the aurhor so researched & writes so touchingly in this book that if one member in the relationship is willing to reach out to the program then there hope as long as tough love is applied & maintained. No cleaning up messes. So, when Kevin was so brain washed by his alcoholic father his whole life he had no way of seeing the steps he needed to walk away from his sick need to bail his father out of trouble when drinking. So, when Nikki comes into his life he feels he has to care for the independent loving feeling talkative woman. Which just totally overloads him mind & emotions. Loved it.
March 21, 2017
Ok book, but I found myself not caring about the protagonists and most of their choices made me roll my eyes.
June 9, 2011
I enjoyed this one. it wasn't as humorous as most of Carly Phillips books but I really liked the characters. There were also some serious issues dealt with. Kevin is the son of an alcoholic and his learning how to deal with his father was an important part of the story. I really liked that Nikki introduced him to the idea of Al-Anon. AA is occasionally mentioned in books but help for the families of alcoholics almost never is. That whole storyline made this book much deeper than a typical girl gets pregnant after one night stand story so I liked that it was included. It made all the characters seem more life like
December 26, 2012
drey’s thoughts:
Brought together by tragedy, then pushed apart by stubbornness, Kevin and Nikki’s non-relationship is further complicated when he returns to town.
She loves him, but doesn’t want him if he doesn’t love her. He loves her, but doesn’t know it yet–and even if he did, he has absolutely no clue how to show it. When circumstances throw them together, they have to figure out if love is worth fighting for. Or if their arrangement is purely for convenience’s sake.
This is a sweet love story where the hero and heroine have everything to fight for, and everything to lose. Definitely one for romantic in all of us.
drey’s rating: Pick it up!
Brought together by tragedy, then pushed apart by stubbornness, Kevin and Nikki’s non-relationship is further complicated when he returns to town.
She loves him, but doesn’t want him if he doesn’t love her. He loves her, but doesn’t know it yet–and even if he did, he has absolutely no clue how to show it. When circumstances throw them together, they have to figure out if love is worth fighting for. Or if their arrangement is purely for convenience’s sake.
This is a sweet love story where the hero and heroine have everything to fight for, and everything to lose. Definitely one for romantic in all of us.
drey’s rating: Pick it up!
December 27, 2015
Solitary Man was a typical category length book. I like Carly Phillips a lot, but this was early and written under her pseudonym, so wasn't as good as I'm used to for her. I felt like Nikki didn't really give Kevin the chance she promised to give him before deciding he couldn't give her what she needed - so I was a little irritated with her. Luckily he was able to make the changes in his life that needed to be made in order to be whole before she could actually act on her decisions. The ending was sweet but I couldn't help but feel a little let down that Nikki was so impatient with Kevin's ability to give emotionally.
January 26, 2014
Solitary Man was the third book of Carly Phillips that I read. It was may favorite in some ways. I loved the characters. I loved how hard both of them were willing to work to make their marriage and life better for their unborn baby. I did not like how Kevin tried to force Nikki into making the decisions he wanted her to make. Either way, it was a nice read and had a happy ending.
February 24, 2012
I wasn't surprised to find myself enjoying this book, I always enjoy her books. There was a lot of depth of emotion in this story and I found myself pulling for the hero to find his way to a happy ending. I enjoyed this book, and would only say, read it, it doesn't disappoint.
June 10, 2013
This was a contemporary romance which I liked but I didn't connect enough with the characters to love it. I think maybe it was the lack of humorous banter. These were more internal sorts, fiercely independent and not as open to connecting with others. Their childhoods taught them that.
November 23, 2024
A more intense romance than most of this authors books, dealing with the effects of alcoholism on the children of alcoholics and how it affects them emotionally. Kevin learned as a child that he has to be strong and carries around undeserved guilt. Nikki has to teach him that he is not his father.
July 8, 2011
enjoyed this, sometimes the "I'm not good enough for her/him" theme bugs me, why do we have to make characters that are so unsure of themselves?
August 2, 2011
This was not one of her best. Not terrible, but glad Carly got better with later books. There was none of the humor that I'm used to with Carly and the characters just weren't that likable.
October 9, 2011
Not of on my favorite books of Carly's. You can tell that this was an early book of her's, and by that how great of a writer she has become today. As always a good read!
August 19, 2011
Eh she's written much better
August 24, 2014
Loved this book, my first by Carly Phillips, and I will read more of hers. Nice romance novel, well written. Recommend it highly.
August 30, 2014
Glad Kevin Manning finally came around! Loved this one!!!!
December 13, 2016
I liked nothing about this.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews