Review: Overall 3 stars, though some aspects rank higher
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 29, 2012
I downloaded this story when it was available for free, but it took me a couple months to get around to reading the story.  I was really happy with the character development of the four main characters, Sylvie (aka Iffy) the birthday clown and female lead, Nick the single father trying to do what's best for his girls, Lana the daughter stressed beyond her seven years, and Emily the fireball of a five year old.  The children's characters were excellently written, and by far my favorite part of this book.  They were so complex, and really came to life.  I also loved the backstory about their mother who was the ex. wife before she died.  There's plenty of stories about widowers, and plenty of stories about divorced single dads, but this story combined several unique elements.  I think I could have enjoyed a much longer story involving the children and dealing with everything with this divorce then death.The romance side of the story reminded me as what are sometimes categorized as "retro" romances.  It contained some of the traditional romance plot elements, such as a very wealthy man who is able to financially provide for the poor woman, and the couple going from strangers to HEA after only a handful of encounters.There are also some editing issues, a few typos and misplaced or wrongly used words.  It didn't bother me that much, but I know some people find it takes them out of the reading experience.  If you're a reader easily distracted when a novel needs editing, you might want to pass on this one.If you enjoy the "retro" romance novels, then I think you'll really enjoy this book.  I enjoyed many aspects of the book, but I prefer the more modern style contemporary romances over the traditional style.