REVIEW: The Bottom Line by Sandy James

The Bottom Line by Sandy James: Traditional wedding vows can be paraphrased as follows: “Do you promise to be true in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love and honor all the days of your life?” When, unfortunately, one of the partners in the marriage doesn’t honor those vows, the financial and psychological fallout can be immense. And that’s where The Bottom Line starts. Mallory Hamilton is ready to start life anew. A dedicated high school teacher, Mallory is recently divorced and her home is a “DIY” disaster. Her distant husband Jay left her after a personal health crisis, and her trust in the reliability of men is at an all-time low. She hires the very hunky but kindly Ben Carpenter to do the repairs on her house. Ben is also damaged from divorce, and is the custodial parent of a 13-year-old daughter, Amber.

They start off on a professional basis, but when Ben comes the weekly church singles mixer that Mallory was dragged to, and asks her to dance they hit it off. Sparks fly, but Ben had been thinking of her since he started working on her house.

Ben loved her scent. Light. Utterly feminine. He tightened him embrace, wanting to press her against him so he could savor the feel of her in his arms.

And when they kiss, Ben and Mallory discover they have that all-important chemistry:

Ben had made her want him. He’d made her heart pound, her head spin, and her body flood with heat.

They gradually move into a relationship. Ben cooks for Mallory, she meets his child and his horrid ex-wife, and shares her secrets with him. They are able to build a good relationship fairly quickly, although Mallory’s skeptical best friend Juliana keep her on an even footing. Suddenly though, circumstances change, and with their past histories, can their relationship survive?

This book has excellent characters. Mallory is a strong person who has gone through a lot in a short period of time, and is doing a tremendously good job of coping, but she’s hanging on by the merest thread. So when there is a crisis of any sort, it is easy for her to leap to conclusions, often of the more dire sort. However, she is also very private, which makes it difficult for her Ben and her colleagues to really get to know her. Ben is a strong, hardworking man who comes to care for Mallory very quickly, which shows that he was ready for a new relationship, and that he had longer to get over his old one. He makes mistakes, but he is willing to own up to them and apologize. His daughter Amber is very important to him, and this shows in their relationship, which is fairly realistic, despite how well-behaved and well-adjusted Amber seems. Mallory’s friends, her fellow school teachers and the “Ladies who Lunch” all add spice and interest to the mix.

Well written, interesting, and highly sympathetic to Mallory and the difficulties in her situation, I didn’t find the story as engaging as I would have liked. Everything was just too easy, until it wasn’t, and then the responses seemed disproportionate to the circumstances. However, the book is still entertaining, a good quick read, and, in some ways, inspiring. I do feel I have to warn sensitive readers that there are a triple-handful of f-bombs liberally scattered throughout this book, which they may find offensive. This is the first book in Sandy James’ “Ladies who Lunch” series, and it seems to be a good start!

Book Info:

Published May 6th 2014 by Forever Yours

When life gets tough and love is hard to find, four friends take their troubles to lunch. Surviving a failed marriage and an illness that almost takes her life, high school teacher Mallory Hamilton needs the Ladies Who Lunch more than ever . . .

After a year of upheaval, Mallory has had her fill of change—with one exception. Her house is a disaster, and she wants it fixed. Hiring a contractor to finish the projects her ex-husband started will help her banish the past so she can return to the life she had before everything went awry. But her contractor is sexy, sweet, and single, which threatens the peaceful, solitary life Mallory has planned for herself.

Ben Carpenter has had a hard time raising his daughter without his ex-wife’s help. His new client’s projects will give him the extra income he needs, not to mention afternoons alone with a gorgeous woman. Though their attraction is undeniable, Ben sees the fear and pain hiding in Mallory’s beautiful eyes. But how can he help her if she won’t let him in? Ben can fix just about anything—but can he fix Mallory’s broken heart?