Five of Hearts

Jennifer
DeCuir
Genre: 
Contemporary

Dean gained fame and fortune as the lead singer of a wildly popular boy band.  Ten years later, the preposterous paternity suits and phony people continue to plague him.  Trading his Malibu mansion for anonymous living in coastal Maine, Dean finally gains the peace and quiet he is seeking - until three mischievous children invade his backyard and their down-to-earth mother tempts him with their sincere hearts and ordinary life. Shannon, a single mother, offers friendship.  She seems truly attracted to the man – not his fame or fortune.  Can he trust her to stay the same once his past comes to light or will his secrecy cost him the woman he loves?

The vices available to pop stars often cause them to make the headlines. With stardom comes wealth and consequences: ambitious paparazzi, loss of privacy, and deceitful people.  It’s easy to sympathize with Dean, the hero.  Experience has jaded him to potential friends’ motivations.  Shannon, the heroine, has her work cut out for her.  As a mother of triplets and abandoned by her husband, she’s entitled to her own trust issues.  As a hero, Dean seems too good to be true - the intuitive way he understands Shannon’s right to put her needs first every once in a while, yet, some readers may feel these qualities are to be expected in this genre.   For a novella, the characters have just enough depth for a light read.  “Five of Hearts” provides a light romance with enough tension to entertain readers.  

Anna Fitzgerald