His Real Father by Debra Salonen, Harlequin SuperRomance #1279, Rating: C

There is a spoiler in this review revealing some information from the end of the book.

Joe Kelly takes a break from his life as a Hollywood film director and creator and returns to Worthington, California upon hearing that his mother is remarrying. He's stayed away a good deal of the years since high school when he left, in part because of his late twin brother's almost-wife and son. Lisa Malden had won Joe's heart the moment he saw her as a new student at their school, but it was twin brother Patrick that got her - except for one night. It turns out Joe's mother is also selling the pub his father, Joe, started years ago. Lisa is the buyer despite being about to finish college after taking 10 years (and several majors) to achieve her goal. He realizes once he's returned to Worthington that you can run but you can't hide from feelings, sooner or later they come bubbling back to the top.

Lisa Malden is a single parent. Her son's father, Patrick, died in a drunk driving accident, driving off an embankment when he shouldn't have been driving to celebrate a promotion he had gotten. Due to her promiscuous mother, Lisa has been afraid to date over the years, not wanting to be compared to her mother. It is with great embarassment that she slept with Joe one night when Patrick was too drunk and passed out near them. It wasn't until years later that she realized there was the possibility her son, Brandon, could be Joe's. Joe returning to Worthingon was a nightmare come true. He could ruin everything - her son's life, her goal to buy the Kelly's bar so that she and her son would have an income to put him through college, her reputation - what would people think and say if they knew she had slept with her boyfriend's brother! - and her heart which she knew could not take much more. Lisa is a strong woman, she loves her family and does the best she can with Brandon, staying close to the Kelly's despite how much it hurts so that her son can be surrounded by family. She's put herself through college and has a plan with the bar while Brandon's in college, followed by putting her Education degree to work once he's finished.

Joe Kelly is ready for a change. His film industry career started out with a bang due to a documentary about drunk driving, inspired by his late twin brother's accident. But since then he's had spotty successes at best and one film shelved because of the September 11^th events. He returns to Worthington inspired to do a film about the bar, a documentary of the people and faces of the town he grew up in. He hasn't spent much time in Worthington and his nephew is a virtual stranger to him. He's surprised that his nephew has more scholastic ability than his father Patrick seemed to and takes to the camera as enthusiastically as Joe had. Joe is a likeable guy, I liked him, and couldn't help feel bad for him as he came to terms with his brother and the past.

His Real Father was a decent read. I was disappointed in the ending. The premise of the whole book was "Who's the father?" and we weren't given the results. I enjoyed meeting the Kelly's and Lisa's family. Maureen Kelly was a nice character, her dealing with a possible re-marriage after breast cancer was touching. Brandon was portrayed in a realistic way, 17 is a hard age! I rate His Real Father a C, mostly due to the build-up about which brother fathered the boy only to be let down. I felt cheated.

©Susan Falk and phantomroses.com