The Substitute Bride

The Substitute Bride by Kathleen O'Brien

Journalist Marly Akers' upbringing was what some would call strict.  At the age of 17, her mother had found herself pregnant, abandoned, and trapped.  So, in order to make sure that that never happened to her daughter, she laid out stringent expectations, and bestowed harsh consequences for not meeting those expectations.  Now, nine years after leaving home to start the life her mother always wanted, Marly is back in Marietta...pregnant and abandoned.

Drake Everett has always been good at playing a part.  The cocky sports star.  The class clown.  The careless playboy.  Before, however, his act was always to cover up the dark truth about his dysfunctional family.  Now that the act is no longer needed, can he convince the only woman who has ever mattered that he is not playing a part?  Or will his attentions only leave her feeling trapped?

When looking at the relationship between Marly and Angelina, it is hard not to draw comparisons to "Sweet Home Alabama" (movie, not song).  Angelina loves Marly, she really does, but she doesn't want her to repeat her mistakes.  It was really hard to like Angelina, but you can't like every character, and she serves a huge purpose to Marly's growth.

Drake was a bit difficult to get on board with.  I felt that his character was treated more as a secondary character than a hero.  His character was not fleshed out as much as I would have liked, but the parts that I did see were admirable.

The supporting characters were a split, in my opinion.  Fly was awesome.  He will remind readers of every dream of a perfect grandfather they have ever had.  Robin, on the other hand, was annoying.  I tried to find her sense of humor endearing, but it just came off ill-timed and self-serving.  That may have been the point of the author, though.  There really are people out there in real life that just can't help but be this way.  There is nothing really malicious about them, so they still have genuine friends, but those friends probably groan every time they open their mouths

Overall, the mother-daughter relationship is the jewel of this book.  It is real and proves that mothers and daughters don't have to have perfect relationships to love each other.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 3

Sex – 4 

Language – 4

Storyline – 4

Overall – 4