LESS THAN PERFECT FAMILY - Betty Hanawa
The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 1-60154-223-2
May 2008
Contemporary Romance

Los Angeles, California - Present Day

Sam Michaels fought a losing battle with envy over a dead man’s hold on the woman he loves. He has all but given up hope that he and Janie McDaniel can be more than friends, when his family is struck by a terrible tragedy. Sam’s 21-year-old daughter, Darla, is killed in a car accident, and her six-year-old daughter, Cami, is injured severely. In a desperate move to keep Cami out of her horrid grandmother’s grasp, Sam convinces Janie to marry him for the sake of the custody suit.

Janie is slowly letting go of the grief that came when her husband died from cancer. Her son, Stuart, is adjusting nicely to his father’s death, and they’ve made friends with Sam and Cami. Janie is attracted to Sam and wants to take his flirtations seriously, but she doubts that she can hold his attention for longer than a short-term fling. Not wanting anything to affect their friendship, she struggles to keep the relationship platonic. But can Janie hold out against Sam’s charms and his desperation to keep Cami safe?

LESS THAN PERFECT FAMILY is an entertaining tale of two adults struggling to make a happy family out of their broken homes. The characters are all very dynamic and colorful. Janie and Sam both try to protect their hearts when all they really want is each other. The children, Cami and Sam, are very believable. The grandmother and her second husband are just disgusting people that readers will love to hate. Betty Hanawa does a great job moving the characters through the emotional turmoil of the car accident and the uniting of two homes through snappy dialogue. For a nice relaxing read, I recommend LESS THAN PERFECT FAMILY.

Mel Mason