cover image Unwrapped

Unwrapped

Katie Lane. Grand Central/Forever, $6.99 mass market (336p) ISBN 978-1-4555-5189-7

Lane’s third McPherson contemporary (after Ring In the Holidays) is weak on plot but has plenty of delightful characters. Patrick McPherson, one of several handsome brothers working in the family construction business, has escaped briefly to an isolated cottage in Colorado. A stormy night forces Jacqueline Maguire to seek refuge with him. Patrick suspects she was sent by his matchmaking aunt, but he gives her a one-night stand to remember; the next day, she disappears. When Jac learns she is pregnant, she returns to tell Patrick about the child. She needs a husband to fulfill the terms of a will, so she accepts Patrick’s dutiful proposal, but it will take more than obligation to make the couple’s Christmas dreams come true. Readers will love the appealing McPhersons, and savor Jac and Patrick’s sizzling chemistry. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. (Oct.)