High Meadow

January 20, 2003
"Nice" isn't a word often used to describe a book, but in the case of this solidly plotted, staid story, it's a fitting adjective.
As people on blind dates soon learn, however, "nice" doesn't mean intriguing or stirring, and Wolf's newest foray into the contemporary romance arena (after Silverbridge) is neither. Single mother Kate Foley, who works from dawn to dusk keeping her stable in the black and mothering her adoptive son, Ben, has little room in her life for romance until Yankees star pitcher Daniel Montero appears in her riding ring upon learning that Ben is the son he never knew he had. Suspicious of Daniel's wealth and charm, Kate is reluctant to let him into her well-ordered life but concedes that Ben deserves to know his father. The constant interjection of the characters' thoughts, sometimes stretching over several paragraphs, disrupts any sense of intimacy Wolf means to build between her characters. As a result, Kate and Daniel seldom touch the reader's heart as they meander toward love. The happily-ever-after in romances is never in doubt; the fun is in getting there. But this tame tale loses this edge somewhere along the way, leaving readers with a serviceable but uninspiring read.

February 15, 2003
Kate Foley leads a quiet, hard-working life on her family's Connecticut horse farm, where she lives with her widowed mother and seven-year-old adopted son, Ben. With a heart hardened by distrust of men as well as an all-encompassing drive to care for her beloved family, Kate has little time or interest for romance. When Ben's father, a world-famous pitcher for the New York Yankees, makes a sudden and somewhat unlikely entrance into their lives, Kate greets this intrusion with grave suspicion. Daniel Montero is charming, handsome, and worldly, a Colombian with strong feelings for his family and his country. His love for his newly met son is matched only by his interest in beautiful, honest, and straightforward Kate. While Ben and Daniel launch a relationship, strong-willed Kate begins to open her heart. With a picturesque setting, well-developed and likable characters, and an engaging story line, Wolf's latest should be popular with readers who enjoy old-fashioned romance with a little contemporary spice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)