~A Worthy Heir~

by Pat Ballard

      Heroine: lushly-curved

     Pam Spencer is determined to see justice done.  Her wheelchair-bound brother deserves better than to be fired by the company which caused his accident in the first place!

    Strapped for cash and unable to qualify for insurance coverage, Tom Spencer will never be able to afford the surgery he so desperately needs in order to walk again.  So when his former employer, Bainbridge Corporation, takes out an ad in the local newspaper searching for a new heir to inherit the family fortune, sister Pam seizes the chance to right a past wrong, hoping beyond hope that her brash sincerity will win the day for them.

    But Pam never reckoned on the hurdles that would be strewn along the path to Tom's future happiness; especially not the clause about having to move into the very same house as the incredibly sexy, utterly cruel disowned heir, Reese Bainbridge!

      What worked for me:

      I thought the overall premise of the book was intriguing, and the classified ad was a clever way to get all of the characters interacting with each other right from the get-go!

      I genuinely liked Pam and could see from the start that she was a good person; one whom I'd want for a friend.

       I can't go into it without spoiling plot points, but there was something revealed about Reese's history which I found rather touching.  I only wish I'd discovered it earlier in the story so that I would have understood him and liked him sooner.

      Size-wise Pam was a throw-back to the 1950s voluptuous pinup era, with a little extra padding besides.

What didn't work for me:    

      I wanted to like the hero.  I truly did.  Physically, he was the kind of guy who would knock me right off my feet. ;^) But he was so damaged.. so petulant and unkind to Pam at times, that I just couldn't see myself having the patience to untangle this gorgeous guy from his troubled past.  (I would have gone nuts from having it out with him as often as Pam did.)

      Well, I've mentioned before that there is currently a strong trend in featuring virginal or nearly virginal plus-size heroines in contemporary romances.  I hope Ms. Ballard also has a book starring an extremely predatory curvy gal for those of us looking for a Mae West "Just-Let-Me-At-Him" type to live vicariously through. ;^)

Overall:

 "A Worthy Heir" is a touching novel; a solid read for anyone interested in romantic stories about healing damaged family relationships.

Though there are some mildly sensual scenes, this book should still appeal to fans of sweet romances.

   If you liked "A Worthy Heir" you might also enjoy "Love at Large", "Midsummer Lightning", "The Independent Bride", "Born to be Wild", "More to Love", "The Legacy Tree", "Carried Away", "Etta Mae's Little Theory", "His Seductive Revenge", "The Course of True Love", "Lady Blue", "Love by the Pound", "Tales from the Heart", or "Teacher's Pet".

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