Books › Temporary Parents
Temporary Parents
First published 1998 · 189 pages
A windswept, cozy second-chance romance where domestic pretend-play slowly melts away years of guarded secrets.
What it feels like
Reading this vintage romance feels like retreating to a windswept Cornish cottage while a storm of unresolved feelings brews outside. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging pace, pulling you immediately into the delicious tension of forced proximity and second chances. It balances the cozy, heartwarming domesticity of caring for children with the sharp, angsty edge of a hidden past. The prose is emotionally direct and unpretentious, focusing heavily on the characters' internal longing and the electric, unspoken history between them. It is a perfect comfort read for those who delight in classic category romances, where the lines between playing house and falling back in love blur beautifully before a dramatic, satisfying emotional payoff.
- Mood
- cozy
- windswept
- intimate
- tense
- Tone
- dramatic
- earnest
- romantic
- angsty
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- second chances · domestic intimacy · unresolved pasts · hidden truths
- The writing
- Accessible, emotionally direct, and heavily focused on internal longing and romantic tension.
- The arc
- Moves from guarded reluctance and lingering heartbreak to a tentative, cozy domesticity, culminating in a dramatic revelation that paves the way for true reconciliation.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love vintage category romances featuring forced proximity, domestic bliss, and a healthy dose of secret-harboring angst.
Content notes
- past relationship trauma
- secret keeping
About the book
Laura had sworn never to return to Cornwall, or to see her ex-lover, Max, again. But now here she was, cocooned in a tiny clifftop cottage with him, watching him play daddy to her small niece and nephew - and enjoying every minute of it!
Hidden away from the outside world, it was all too easy to pretend that she and Max were together again, but Laura knew the fun and frolics couldn't last. Once they handed the children back to their real parents, Max would surely lose interest in her. Especially when he learned her shattering secret!
Description from Open Library.
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