Lonely Soul by Mary Quast

Title: Lonely Soul

Author: Mary Quast

Publisher: Vanilla Heart Publishing

Published date: May 2009

ISBN: 978-1-935407-94-2

Genre/Theme: Contemporary

Length: 308 pages

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The eldest of the McAlister siblings is responsible and always putting his brother and sister before himself. Now that Erick and Elizabeth were enjoying their married lives, the time had come for Michael Casey McAlister to find his soulmate. A man with a deep sense of family and honor, yet at times could be manipulative and very controlling, always doing what he thought was best for others. Featured on The Most Dangerous Bachelors list with his brother, but for his love for daring outdoor activities; he searched for a woman who wasn’t a high society princess. With his good looks, wealth and sexual prowess, he has attracted many ladies but when the one he thinks is Miss Right doesn’t like his dog he shows her the door. Lonely and discouraged, he dedicates himself into a New York City community garden project with his friends and busies himself with his comic strip he has created under the name of Mike Casey. Mike meets Lauren “Wren” Avery with the help of their dogs in the park while he’s working on a cartoon. He sees her as a chance to improve himself and not follow his father’s path of unhappiness. He certainly didn’t expect to fall in love with the graphic artist. Wren falls in love with him as the cartoonist not knowing he is the co-owner of McAlister Enterprises, the same company she works for. He knows he’s wrong not telling her the truth, but his world falls apart when she's transferred to the London office and she finds out who he really is. He realizes that in while building the company and interfering in other people’s lives he may have lost control of his own life and what truly matters.

The first thing I was tempted to do after I read this was deduct a full point from my rating. Why? Because I’m exhausted. Shame on you, author Mary Quast – I started reading this book a bit too late in the evening, fully intending to mosey through a few chapters and retire at a decent hour. Didn’t happen. The birds were chirping and dawn was breaking this morning when I finished. I had to know what happened to Mike and Lauren. I expected a happily-ever-after, it’s a given. But the lovely twists and turns kept me planted in my chair, intent on getting to that ending before my head hit the pillow. I think the excerpt above is plenty to get a reader interested in the premise of the book but I will say this story was full of life and fun, sexy, interesting secondary characters (which, if done well, is a huge bonus for me to read about) that I can’t wait to hear more about (Trevor, in particular). Mary Quast also has a great eye for detail and description and everywhere the book took me, I could see the scenes very clearly. Plus, I used to spend lots of time in the Adirondacks as a kid, so that was like going back for me. Aside from a few typos and some strange formatting that distracted occasionally, this book was fantastic. Nice job, Ms Quast! I definitely want to read more of this series, I think your other readers will love this book and you’ll find news fans as well!

Rating: 4

Heat Level: Sweet and Spicy elements

Reviewer: Valerie Mann