This book had the makings of a five-star Harlequin, but the effect was spoiled a bit by a too neat ending. I thought the HEA would have been more powerful if it were in spite of the rather large obstacles in their way. Quibble, quibble, quibble...

Joe Brody is returning to town after 10 years in prison for manslaughter in the death of his baby daughter when he was a mere 18 years old. He knows he didn't cause his daughter's death, but no one in town believes him other than his father. Gratitude and loyalty bring Joe back home to look after his elderly father, who is currently in a nursing home healing a broken hip. Just as he's getting disheartened by the local employers slamming their doors to the "baby killer," he happens upon Ashley Cade, who needs a handyman for her project to turn an old Victorian into a bed and breakfast. The pay was room and board and a pittance in cash, but it was the best he was going to get.

The widowed Ashley's a new arrival in the small town. She's moved here to make a fresh start after her husband died in Iraq, leaving her a young widowed mother. After growing up in a group foster home herself, she wants to give her young son stability in his childhood, and sees buying a home and running a business in a small town as the best way to put down solid roots. This desire to be a part of a community wars with her growing attraction to Joe as she's slowly finding out he's the town pariah, and with good reason.

The novel has a strong character focus, and the romance that follows is slow and emotional. Both are a mess of insecurities and grief and reluctant to indulge this attraction they feel. You could cut the tension between these two with a knife. Ashley is apprehensive about moving on from the first husband, who was also a childhood friend of hers, and about getting involved with a man while raising her son. Joe feels unworthy of Ashley, and is understandably afraid of how she'll react when she finds out about why he went to prison.

I liked how their problems were given the weight they were. Amazing sex didn't wipe their troubles magically away. There are false starts, awkward moments and a few tense, angsty scenes. I loved how both characters were tough as nails and extremely vulnerable at the same time. They were real people to me. The kind that aren't perfect and that make mistakes but are able to admit when they're wrong.

Unfortunately, the ending is way too neat. We find out how his daughter actually died, there's a big pow-wow hug fest with the baby's mom - now dying of cancer - her dad the angry police chief and Ashley where the kindly small town doctor reveals his irrefutable evidence, then every wish is granted in a saccharine epilogue. As the book's strength is the drama, angst and conflict, it seems an odd decision to make it all go away.

Taken as a whole, though, I have to say I loved the book. The characters and their dilemmas were made real to me, making their stories and eventual HEA a joy to read. ( )

Summary: A new-comer to the town needs a handy man who can turn her newly purchased home into a B&B. The only man willing to work for the salary she can offer just finished serving his prison sentence.

The Take-Away: I was skeptical about this title. It's a Harlequin Superromance, that I got for free from the eHarlequin site. It was better than I expected. It was rather forgettable also, but worth the time spent in a brainless, easily entertained, too tired to actually read anything way. (Gosh, that sounds bad.) Some women really like Harlequins. I found them to be too formula-ish in the past for my taste. The characters were good, even if the plot was a bit contrived.

Recommendation: Better than I expected, but nothing I'd rush to get. ( )

Will the truth set him free?

Joe Brody: Out of prison but still serving time - all because no one in his hometown believes he's innocent. He'd leave the place in his dust, but his father - the only family he has left - needs him.

Ashley Cade: Widowed with a toddler to take care of. She's moved here to make a fresh start - but being accepted into the inner circles of a close-knit town isn't easy. Especially after she hires the town pariah as a handyman.

Joe and Ashley: The attraction between them is powerful. But is it enough to overcome the whispers that Ashley has begun to hear?