Red Hill Springs, Alabama is the setting for this emotional look at a
family in trouble. Cameron Quinn has come back to town after his sister
and her husband were killed in a car crash. His mom, who wasn't in
contact with him, still manages a trailer park. Cameron's nieces are
what concerns him.
THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN is fourth
in the Family Blessings series. Jules Sheehan was the best friend of
Glory, Cameron Quinn's sister, and she took care of the orphaned
Eleanor and Emma, aged three and under a year. Unfortunately, she
hasn't heard anything good of the absent Cameron. His thinking he can
walk back into the lives of the little girls doesn't impress her. He's been
a traveler and the children need someone permanent in their lives; she
runs a bakery for her mom's café.
Cameron, who is a handsome biracial man in his thirties, was a
globetrotting travel writer, but now he's thinking of putting down roots,
and where better than in the soil from which he came. He buys a house.
I notice he's quite lucky not to find money a problem; most travel
writers get paid very little because of the subsidized travel perks, while
others spend months looking for sponsorship before they can travel.
Garret Cole, the town lawyer, brings Jules the bad news that one of the
family has filed for custody of the girls; Cameron's mom Vicky. Judge
Walker is known to favour biological family members in such cases, and
he prefers placing children with married couples. Jules loves the girls
and doesn't want to lose them, especially to a woman she thinks of as
unpredictable and manipulative. Maybe there's an answer.
This story by Stephanie Dees is carefully crafted to raise questions
about what a real marriage should be. Indeed, some families are
dysfunctional, the cause of Cameron's fleeing fifteen years ago, and by
marrying an almost- stranger Jules might just be perpetuating that
cycle. Where I live, anyone wishing to wed has to notify a registrar and
wait three months, but we see in Alabama marriages can occur in a day.
This is an issue to debate in itself. Then we learn about working while
missing sleep, parent guilt over an illness, and custody tension. Anyone
who has been through all this will shake her head in sympathy. There
isn't time or energy for newly-wed adult life, so THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN romance is suitable for any
reader. This is a gorgeous, thoughtful look at realistic characters and
issues, just right for summer.
Falling for her convenient groom
Family Blessings lead to new beginnings
Jules Sheehan will do anything to keep custody of the two
orphaned girls in her care—including a marriage of
convenience with their uncle. Cam Quinn crosses the globe
as a travel writer, but he’s ready to settle down. Now
tough, tender Jules is offering the home he’s secretly
longed for. Can this marriage in name only become a
family of the heart?
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