Fifty years after two sisters—Peggy and Tory—are separated and adopted, they find each other again and come together to plan a massive family reunion and 60th birthday party for Peggy at her beach house.

All Our Yesterdays by Kasey Michaels

Sam's a successful heart surgeon who discovers he has a 32-year-old daughter and three grandkids he'd never known about. His college girlfriend Tory had moved out a few months before graduation, leaving no clue as to why she'd left or where she'd gone. Now he knows—she left because she was pregnant.

When Sam shows up at the beach house to find out why Tory lied to him all those years ago, he discovers 55-year-old Tory is just as lovely as he remembered her being in college.

Kasey Michaels’ story focuses on beautifully realistic middle-aged characters, something that's sadly rare in romance. I loved Sam particularly, and how he struggles to come to terms with the discovery that he has a child whose life he'd been cheated out of and, even scarier, three grandkids.

He felt as if he'd somehow aged overnight, from the still fairly young bachelor he thought himself to be, to the grandfather of three. That was going to take some getting used to, definitely. Sort of like waking up one day and deciding maybe it was time to start watching his cholesterol, taking a low-dose aspirin a day and maybe working more fiber into his diet. There weren't a lot of bennies to be found in this getting-old business...

The strength of the story relies on the characters' honesty with each other and their soul-searching about who they both were at 22. There's no manufactured emotion here, no melodrama. The situation is gut-wrenching enough, and Kasey Michaels does a brilliant job of writing two adults who act like adults, who treat each other with respect even as they're hurting.

Tory questions, and deeply regrets, the decision she made to run away even if it seemed like the only option at the time. Sam questions why she ran from him. After seeing pictures of his daughter and grandchildren for the first time, he tells Tory:

"Those photos? They were like a two-by-four to the head. I'd been...I don't know. Dealing in the abstract? But there's nothing abstract about seeing your daughter for the first time. And your grandchildren. Allie says they can't wait to meet me."

"She means that."

"I think she does. And I'm...hell, I'm terrified. I keep looking at those faces, those sweet faces, and thinking I'd rather perform bypass surgery on myself, blindfolded, than face them. Face Allie."

Tory couldn't understand. "But why, Sam? Why haven't you already been to South Carolina? They're dying to meet you."

"Why? You don't get it, do you, Tory? You left, yes. You didn't tell me you were pregnant. You dumped school months before graduation, you took off—and I know damn well you couldn't have had much money in your pockets—rather than tell me you were carrying my child. What kind of monster does that make me?"

As the two of them struggle to come to terms with the past, they begin falling in love with each other all over again and have to decide whether they can have a future together.

Rating: 8 (Very Good)
Heat: 3 (Sensual)

All Our Todays by Sarah Mayberry

Laurie goes to her mother Peggy's beach house to do the catering for her upcoming 60th birthday party. Her mother has recently been reunited with a sister she was separated from over 50 years ago, but the two sisters also had a brother, adopted by an Australian family as an infant, and he died before they could find him.

His business partner, Adam, travels over from Australia so he can share stories and photos with the sisters.

Laurie's been divorced for nearly two years, and when she and Adam meet, sparks immediately fly. But Laurie tells herself nothing can come of pursuing Adam, since his life is on the other side of the world. The first time he kisses her, she pushes him away.

"I pushed. I shouldn't have," he said.

"No. I wanted...But, Adam, you live in Australia."

He gave a single, tight nod. They were both well aware of the geographical impossibilities standing between them.

"I haven't dated since Guy left. Not even a bad date," Laurie said. "I haven't wanted to. And then you suddenly appear in my life and all of a sudden it's like I'm sixteen again—"

"Tell me about it." He sounded rueful.

"But I'm not the kind of person who can handle casual sex," she continued. "It's always been about more than that for me."

"This isn't about sex."

Her gaze dropped pointedly to the front of his jeans where his body gave the lie to his words.

He shrugged a shoulder, his mouth curling up at one corner. "Okay, it's about sex, but it's not only about sex."

I usually love Sarah Mayberry's stories, but while this one is good I felt something was missing. I didn't feel the emotional spark between Adam and Laurie as intensely as I did the emotional connection between other characters, like Laurie and her mom.

Adam's a wonderful hero—kind, funny and supportive—but I didn't pick up on any conflict for him. He falls in love with Laurie within a few days and is willing to move across the world for her. Without something for him to struggle against, any conflict between them felt like it could be too easily overcome, lessening the intensity.

That said, Sarah Mayberry excels at crafting realistic, admirable characters I'd happily spend several hours with, and the ones in this story are no exception.

Rating: 7.5
Heat: 2 (mild)

All Our Tomorrows by Teresa Southwick

Kinsey is a physiotherapist taking care of Peggy, who broke her foot several weeks ago and has the added complication of kidney failure to slow her recovery. As a teenager, Kinsey used to work for Peggy and came to be almost part of the family—except she never felt particularly sisterly toward Peggy’s son David.

Now Kinsey’s staying in a cottage next to the beach house while Peggy recovers. A cottage David is also living in since his fiancée dumped him via text message six months ago.

There’s a lot of potential for conflict and emotional connection between Kinsey and David, but the story suffers from having too much going on, leaving most of the potential depths unexplored.

Kinsey grew up being bounced from foster home to foster home, and she developed a charming smile to put people at ease, even as she learned that no one would have her in their homes for long. David was attracted to her when she was a teenager, but he stepped back before he could become yet one more person to draw her in and then let her down. It’s a great set-up, but around half-way through the story David stops showing concern about the possibility Kinsey will get hurt in this relationship.

David’s mother created a popular children’s book hero based on his childhood misadventures, but the real-life David is a workaholic. Throughout most of the story, he’s very stuffy, and I couldn’t understand why a sparkplug like Kinsey would be attracted to him, unless she needs the stability he offers. But that’s not it—she’s desperate to run away and travel.

Then David’s ex- fiancée returns out of the blue, and she lacks characterization to the point where she feels like a last-minute throw-in to create some tension where there is none. In a book full of interesting characters, she was a great disappointment.

While I found the romance between Kinsey and David lacking, Kinsey’s relationship with Peggy more than makes up for it. I truly enjoyed seeing how Peggy draws the younger woman into the family she never thought she had.

Rating: 7 (Good)
Heat: 2 (Mild)

~ Kat Latham