Karen Templeton has become a favorite go-to author for strong, emotionally compelling contemporary romances. I recently picked up a handful of some of her older SSE's and this is the first one I grabbed out of the stack.

While I enjoyed many aspects of this, I'm afraid I didn't feel the emotional connection to the characters I've come to expect from Templeton. Karleen and Troy were both well drawn characters, and I loved Troy's boys and Karleen's best friend Joanna. But I didn't feel like I was emotionally invested in their story. Yes, I was entertained. But it was missing the strong pull I generally feel when reading Templeton.