Review: Charming and flawed
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 10, 2014
The basic plot is typical.  A smart, downtrodden, poor, moderately attractive woman of integrity starts working for a rich, incredibly handsome, deeply troubled man in his home.  They fall in love but she doesn't believe it.  His unbelievably gorgeous, mean ex stirs things up.  Things turn out right.There is some bad language, some explicit sex and great need for a proofreader.  If any of those bother you, move to another book.The original part of the plot is that the man has an undiagnosed, autistic son.  The woman and her daughter are wonderful, stable and kind in their dealings with the child.  Then it gets to the suspend your disbelief again phase.  (I'm guessing you've already suspended it based on the plot.)  Somehow, this woman with her own normal child and the man's severely autistic child manages to cook, clean, take care of kids, research autism and set up tutors for him.  Really?  Autistic children need to have their lives extremely ordered if they are to function.  The environment for this child is in constant flux.  Realistically, he would have reacted very poorly and for an extended period of time to every change.  She'd have to be Wonder Woman to get everything done.Having said all that, Emily is likable and nicely drawn as a character.  Her daughter, Kate, has a minimally fleshed out personality but she is a secondary character so it can be excused.  Brad loves his child unconditionally and is an honorable man -- except for his violent temper that made me want to tell Emily to run.  The ranch isn't perfect, the hero and heroine aren't perfect, the minor characters have good and bad qualities.  Only the ex is saddled with a one trick personality.  There were some very nicely turned phrases in the book, and the sex was much better written than the norm.All in all, this was a charming, escapist read that I enjoyed.  I'd recommend it to friends who need a predictable, light read.