Moonlight in the Morning

Moonlight in the Morning by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hunky doctor, Tristan Aldredge, first met the artistic Jecca Layton at a party in Edilean when she was 19 and he was 27. They spoke for only a few minutes, but the memory stuck with Tristan for years. Jecca, however, didn't give him another thought. Seven years later, Jecca returns to Edilean to spend the summer painting and working with her best friend and former college roommate, Tristan's cousin Kim. The very first night she's there, Tristan literally trips over her...and thus begins their covert courtship maintained in absolute darkness a la Cupid and Psyche. Small towns are hard on secrets, though, and soon theirs is private no more. Despite warnings from friends and family that it will end badly, all is bliss until the summer winds down and Jecca's projects wind up. Even Tristan's formidable powers of persuasion may not be enough to convince Jecca to give up her career in New York to stay with him in Virginia.

I thought the story got off to a rocky start with the assertion that a fully grown man would be so captivated by a distracted teenager that he'd lap up every mention of her name for seven years. It's ridiculous.

Absurdities aside, the book picks up steam once Jecca arrives in Edilean, and I soon found myself absorbed in the story and wanting to know more about the backstories of the secondary characters, some of which seem to be featured in the next book, Stranger in the Moonlight.

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways, contemporary setting, a few steamy sex scenes, and a few swear words.

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