Little Bridge Island amid the Florida Keys is a warm setting for Molly Montgomery, the new librarian. NO OFFENSE is a contradictory title, as several offenses occur. The first is when Molly discovers someone has abandoned a newborn baby girl in the library.
This scene is guaranteed to awaken the reader’s protective instincts. Molly cuddles the little girl to keep her warm while waiting for help to arrive. Luckily, the paramedics say the baby will be fine, but they are very concerned for her mother.
John Hartwell is the sheriff, and he is more accustomed to dealing with drunks and minor theft. As a father, he is bound to take the investigation seriously. Molly is interviewed, but it’s clear she wasn’t responsible. The work of trying to locate the parents takes up much of the tale, along with Molly’s reactions to the handsome officer. This is far more a romance than a crime story, as the crimes just provide opportunities for the characters to meet and quarrel. Later they apologise.
I consider both the principal characters to behave inappropriately. Small town or not, everyone notices, and a reputation can be lost in seconds. John continually allows Molly, whom he doesn’t know, to tell him how he should run his inquiry. Why is she telling the police their job? She comes across as judgmental and often wrong. John, a divorced father of a teenager, decides to date Molly, who is a major witness in more than one ongoing criminal investigation. Surely, he should wait until those are concluded. Molly gives an interview to the local paper/ webzine and allows herself to be plied with drinks first, then provides plenty of info that she was specifically instructed not to discuss. Right at the start, we meet Molly allowing a disruptive sixteen-year-old youth into a small kids’ craft morning, and she refuses to send him out when he is deliberately upsetting everyone.
It’s fair to say that if you just want a light romance about fussy bookish people and life on an island where people are belatedly learning to lock their doors, you may have a good time with Meg Cabot’s latest adult read. The theme of taking responsibility for children is strong, and young adult readers could learn about idols with feet of clay – except it is for mature readers. NO OFFENSE is part of the Little Bridge Island series. I was surprised to find that I haven’t read anything else by Meg Cabot, but her other titles all seem to involve pretty princesses, which may explain a lot.
New York Times-bestselling author Meg Cabot's returns with a charming romance between a children's librarian and the town sheriff in the second book in the Little Bridge Island series.
Welcome to Little Bridge, one of the smallest, most beautiful islands in the Florida Keys, home to sandy white beaches, salt-rimmed margaritas, and stunning sunsets—a place where nothing goes under the radar and love has a way of sneaking up when least expected...
A broken engagement only gave Molly Montgomery additional incentive to follow her dream job from the Colorado Rockies to the Florida Keys. Now, as Little Bridge Island Public Library’s head of children’s services, Molly hopes the messiest thing in her life will be her sticky-note covered desk. But fate—in the form of a newborn left in the restroom—has other ideas. So does the sheriff who comes to investigate the “abandonment”. When John Hartwell folds all six-feet-three of himself into a tiny chair and insists that whoever left the baby is a criminal, Molly begs to differ and asks what he’s doing about the Island’s real crime wave (if thefts of items from homes that have been left unlocked could be called that). Not the best of starts, but the man’s arrogance is almost as distracting as his blue eyes. Almost…
John would be pretty irritated if one of his deputies had a desk as disorderly as Molly’s. Good thing she doesn’t work for him, considering how attracted he is to her. Molly’s lilting librarian voice makes even the saltiest remarks go down sweeter, which is bad as long as she’s a witness but might be good once the case is solved—provided he hasn’t gotten on her last nerve by then. Recently divorced, John has been having trouble adjusting to single life as well as single parenthood. But something in Molly’s beautiful smile gives John hope that his old life on Little Bridge might suddenly hold new promise—if only they can get over their differences.
Clever, hilarious, and fun, No Offense will tug at readers’ heartstrings and make them fall in love with Little Bridge Island and its unique characters once again.
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