FOOLS RUSH IN

Gwynne Forster

1-58314-037-9

BET/Arabesque

October 1999

(4+) Wayne Jordan

Contemporary Romance

PLOT SYNOPSIS: 

REVIEW: 

From SEAL WITH A KISS, to her most recent novella, “Love of a Lifetime”, Gwynne Forster has established herself as a writer of excellence whose talent is evident in every stroke of her creative pen (Or should I say computer…).

When her husband dies in a motel fire with his mistress, Justine Taylor, eight months pregnant, gives birth to a premature little girl.  Depressed by the circumstances of her life, she gives up the baby for adoption, only to realise later that she has made a terrible mistake.  Justine searches for her daughter only to find that she has been adopted by Duncan Banks.  Duncan, a journalist, is looking for a wife to care for his adopted daughter.  He eventually settles for a nanny, Justine, who’s not like any nanny he has ever known.  Justine’s need to be with her daughter convinces her that lying is the only way she can be with her little girl.  Things become complicated when the two find themselves attracted to each other.

FOOLS RUSH IN is quintessential Forster.  The creation of wonderfully-rounded, complex characters is Ms. Forster’s forte.  Justine is a multi-dimensional individual who is one of Ms. Forster’s most appealing heroines.  The reader cannot help by empathize with her situation, and understand her need to be with her daughter.  The image of Justine holding her daughter for the first time is a vivid, memorable one, but one that is also tinged with sadness:

“If her life had depended upon it, Justine couldn’t have said where she got the strength to reach down and pull her child into her arms.  “JuJu,” Tonya said, pulling at Justine’s dangling earrings.  Justine gazed into eyes identical to her own and, in spite of her efforts to retain her sanity and maintain professional demeanor, she hugged the child to her bosom and kissed her cheek, all the while praying for composure.”        

Duncan is an interesting mature hero.  When he finds out that Justine is the mother of his daughter, his reaction is in keeping with the individual he is.  Unlike the typical romance hero’s reaction in a situation like this, he does not run away from Justine in a huff.  His reaction is in keeping with a hero of his sensitivity and caring.

Along with the hero and heroine, Ms. Forster creates a menagerie of vivid minor characters.  Most vivid is the delightfully colorful Mattie.  Even Mattie’s husband, Moe, who we never see seems the perfect match for her.

Finally, Ms. Forster tosses in a secondary love story between Duncan's sister, Leah, and his best friend, Wayne Roundtree—Readers of AGAINST ALL ODDS will be delighted that these two get their own story.

So why didn’t I give FOOLS RUSH IN a 5-star rating?  Simply because in a book brimming with wonderfully unique characters, the way that Justine’s secret is revealed is a bit too familiar, too soap opera-ish.  But despite this personal minor grouse, FOOLS RUSH IN is another keeper from the creative pen (keyboard?) of Ms. Forster.  Like all of you, I’m already waiting her next book, AGAINST THE WIND.

15th September 1999