Beth Kendrick, My Favorite Mistake

My Favorite Mistake

Beth Kendrick

Downtown, Aug 2004, $13.00, 304 pp.

ISBN: 0743470346

A decade ago, Faith Geary fled her small Minnesota hometown with no plans to ever return and has kept to her vow until now. Her sister Skye hysterically calls saying her world has collapsed as she is about to file for bankruptcy as the "The Roof Rat" bar that Faith invested in and managed by Skye's philandering spouse Bob is failing, and divorce from her cheating husband is imminent. Neither moves Faith though her life savings could vanish if the bar goes into arrears as she co-signed the mortgage. Still she has spent a lifetime with the Skye falling calamities of her sis so she decides to help from a distance.

Her former lover Patrick Flynn calls Faith next to inform her that Skye is pregnant. Knowing that she is walking into landmines, Faith comes home. Skye shows no maturity as if the last ten years, the bar, and marriage never happened. Worse Faith still feels a deep attraction to Patrick, who remains angry with her for leaving him yet still wants her because he never stopped loving her.

The story line is often amusing but contains a serious undertone on actually responsibility for one's actions (and not just saying so as seems to be the norm). Faith is a fine lead character who upon her return quickly realizes why she escaped the insanity in the first place. Patrick furbishes realism as he displays anger while wearing his heart on his sleeve until he realizes that his beloved will leave again without resolving their feelings if he remains irate. With the eccentric support cast adding humorous depth, contemporary romance fans will appreciate this you can go home tale.