Review: Sweet Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 4, 2014
I really enjoyed this short story--the website lists the page count at 35 pages, but the story actually ends at about 63%, so it's only about 20 pages or so in length.  Reggie and Clara were betrayed by their respective spouses, who had an affair with each other.  Clara's husband and Reggie were business partners; the wives were friends.  While engaging in a clandestine assignation, Clara and Reggie's spouses were killed (we're not told how, but I assume it was some type of accident.)  Of course, once the affair becomes public there is a major scandal.In order to shield Clara from public scrutiny--or so he says--Reggie whisks her off to his country estate.  Clara's pain-in-the-butt mother-in-law goes along as a chaperone.  Reggie is extremely attracted to Clara, and has even been a bit in love with her for quite some time.  There is nothing Reggie wants more than to claim Clara for his own.  As for Clara, she was with child when her husband died.  Now more than six months along, she is not feeling the least bit attractive.  She's very attracted to Reggie, but can't imagine that the handsome, oh so eligible Reggie, could ever be interested in her.  Despite it's really short length, this story is touchingly sweet.  I loved the way Reggie was so protective and caring of Clara, and that he found her so attractive even though she was several months along in her pregnancy--the love scenes is smoking hot!The book does end a bit abruptly, but still Ms. Boyd managed to convey all that was necessary for this to be a totally satisfying read for me.  The only thing that could have made this book better--apart from a longer story of course--is an epilogue.  I would have loved to have seen Clara and Reggie happy together, a few months in the future after the baby was born.  That being said, the way Ms. Boyd ended the book left me in no doubt that Clara and Reggie would have a happy life together.  This story is the perfect length for bedtime reading, or when you only have a little time to dedicate to reading and want to indulge in something short and sweet.  Just don't go expecting a fully developed plot and characters...it's a really short story after all.  Happy reading!