Originally Published: 10-08-2020
So this is Love is the 2nd book in the Callaways Series by Barbara Freethy.
Remember that this series is about the Callaway family, all 8 kids!!
Book Details
This story falls in right after book 1, On a Night Like This, where we read about Aidan’s and Sara’s story.
Now it’s Emma’s and Max’s turn for their story.
This one actually falls within weeks of the last book. And the timeline of this story isn’t very much longer than the first book.
You’ll actually find that Emma’s and Max’s story started in book 1 where she’s investigating an arsonist and he’s a detective doing his own investigation.
I found that there’s another book cover for this book, and it was published around the same timeframe, only used as a Kindle Edition instead.
You’ll find that there are details in the love scenes.
This story is classified as a contemporary romance as well as romantic suspense.
That’s because they have an external problem that needs to be solved and the main characters are the only ones able to solve it.
She’s an arson investigator and he’s a police detective who end up working closely together trying to solve a case.
This is considered to be a full length novel with no cliff hanger, but it’s not a intense, complicated plot kind of story.
Yes, it’s a fun, entertaining story and definitely an easy read. And even though there’s a huge family to remember, it’s not a, what I call a multi-dimensional story.
And because this story is a part of a series, you’ll find that there’re story loops that show where and how Sara and Aidan are doing as well as other siblings and people in their community.
We’re also given clues to who might be coming up in future stories.
With that thought, Emma’s and Max’s encounters start in book 1 and continue exclusively in book 2 with them coming together not only for the case that they’re working on but also because they give in to their explosive attraction.
Part of the story is there’s an arsonist starting fires around town. And both are working the case as in there’s an unfortunate death that happens.
And while they are working closely together, they give in to their feelings.
This story follows a typical pattern with the characters being relationship phobic and not trusting in love. Then they try things out with each other and come to realize that they can’t live without the other and declare their love and live happily ever after.
This one is a bit more complicated in that they have to find the arsonist and solve a murder as well as fall in love.
But they do it well and charmingly.
Emma is sister’s with Nicole and then joined the Callaway family that had all the boys. So because of that, she’s younger than most of them but she’s also driven by having to live up to the “standard” of who and what the Callaways are.
Max is from a broken home with a brother who’s just out of prison and a mother that’s way too emotional. He’s driven to keep everything under control cuz he couldn’t as a child.
So while they have similar issues, they also come at those issues a little bit differently. They also find that they compliment each other and end up working well together.
Conclusion
While I found that the characters were intriguing and colorful, I don’t consider them to be 3 or 4 dimensional like other book series can be.
To me a really well developed character that’s 3 to 4 dimensional, they have more than one issues and have not only external but also internal issues that have to be dealt with.
I found that these characters are 2.5 dimensional. Okay, putting a number on this is silly but…..
Please know that I did enjoy this story, and this series, but the characters are more simple than complex.
But they’re still entertaining and memorable. And even though they follow a predictable pattern, this is a enjoyable story that will keep you blissfully stuck for ages as you read each and every one in the series.
