April's Man by Rosanna Rae is a self published novel and a 2013 release. I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
April is a stunning beauty, June is April's teenage sister, also a looker, and then there is Belinda. Belinda may not stop traffic, but she is the sister with the most depth. She is resentful of April and to some degree, June, but Belinda works hard , helps her mom out and looks out for June as well. So, when April breezes in with a boyfriend she wants her parents to meet, it looks like April may be ready to stick to just one guy. But, looks can be very deceiving.
Poor Belinda is instantly attracted to Scott. Scott is just a great all around guy. He picks up on Belinda's crush, but of course he doesn't want to encourage anything. The thing is though, he really likes Belinda. When she comes to him with a family issue he is more than happy to help out. Belinda's concerns show him the vast differences between her and April.
In the meantime, Belinda is introduced to Jim. Jim is a good friend of Belinda's best, friend Melissa and her husband, Cameron. Melinda and Cameron, meaning well, set the two up at a dinner date in their home. The night was a total disaster, but Jim is also a really great guy and he and Belinda begin seeing each other. But, even Jim can't help but notice the way Belinda and Scott look at one another.
April on the other hand sees Belinda's infactuation with Scott, but fails utterly to see that Scott is smitten as well, and not with her.
If life were simple all of this could probably have been worked out between mature adults. But, life doesn't work that way. One stunning revelation after another has Scott's head spinning. Belinda also has a reaction to these stunning developments. But, things go from bad to worse as tragedy strikes. Before anyone can wrap their heads around what has happened, yet another catostophic event occurs that will change everyone' s perspective. Nothing turns out quite like you would expect it to.
This was a great story. I loved it! A contemporary romance that has just the right amount of humor, drama, romance and characterization. April's self absorbed personality, June's teenage angst that lead her make some horrible choices, then Belinda. Belinda is the glue that holds it all together. She too experiences confusion and fear and heartbreak, but she always seems to remember that other people have things they are going through as well.
The moral of course is that a pretty face doesn't make a pretty heart and beauty is really only skin deep. The author does a fantastic job of making that point in a subtle way. In the end it is so important to really be truthful with ourselves and with others. Things are always so much better that way. It's not always an easy thing to do, as these characters found out, but everything worked out just the way it should have.
So, I'm still on a roll with another five star rating . This one is an A+
