Fifth in a series called From
Kenya, With Love comes a
strong romance. I previously read THROUGH THE STORM about
a wife fleeing her husband, but this tale brings a couple
together. Dax Calder has twin daughters and no current
nanny, and he worries about the girls getting eaten by wild
beasts, as you do in Africa. Tabara Lodge is an upmarket
safari destination, but you never know, especially since
these kids have minds of their own.
THE TWIN TEST comes about when Dax encounters Pippa Harper
at the lodge. Pippa gives nature walks to visiting kids,
but the rest of the time she's a teacher in the Masai Mara
villages. Pippa lives with family at an elephant rescue
centre, having returned from traveling Europe, and she
seems like a good person to ask to mind the girls while
Dax, a widowed geologist with an energy company, gets down
to work. Can she cope with Ivy and Fern, little horrors who
see off nannies? Can they be more chaotic than vervet
monkeys? Everyone knows about double trouble.
Dax worries that by working for the highest bidder he is
going against the principles he used to have; where the
environment and local people mattered, and seismology was
to be used to predict earthquakes, not to aid resource
extraction. His work now makes him diametrically opposed to
Pippa's way of life here, so he says very little and hopes
the girls will stay quiet. Of course, this tells a story
itself. If Dax was proud of his work he would not try to
hide it.
Pippa is confident in the bush, but not stupid, driving
herself without taking undue risks. As the book cover shows
she loves taking photos of nature with a professional
camera. She may not be used to kids who play pranks, but
when you can show them something as awesome as an elephant
family -- you win. Pippa comes across as a well-developed
character, who has appeared in other books of this series.
Turns out she has a geology degree, not that Dax would
know because he's just seeing her as the nanny. I enjoyed
her so much. Through Pippa's contact with the local people
we get to see some of the issues affecting the Masai
daughters... and orphaned elephants.
I highly recommend THE TWIN TEST by Rula Sinara for fans of
romance in a setting that is bigger than the characters.
This is suitable for anyone from teens to adults who loves
the outdoors.
But she knows just how to tame them—and their father
Earthquake expert Dax Calder brings his eleven-year-old
twins to the Serengeti to fulfill a promise to his late
wife—never leave the girls. Meeting free-spirited teacher
Pippa Harper feels like serendipity. She’s the perfect nanny
for his mischievous twosome, even if her definition of rules
is slightly different than his. But there’s one rule Dax
never expected to break…falling in love again.