Fool’s Gold, in California’s Gold Rush foothills, is everyone’s hometown. If you aren’t lucky enough to be born there, you get there as soon as you can.
I just finished Susan Mallery’s latest Fool’s Gold novel, Two of a Kind*.
Felicia and Gideon were introduced in Just One Kiss and now we get to read their story.
Felicia is scary smart and socially awkward. She thinks literally and often responds to others’ words, forgetting about the meaning and intent behind the words. She moved to Fool’s Gold to put down roots and make a family. She assigns herself the task of learning how to fit in. After a few months, the community has taken her in and made her one of their own. She loves Fool’s Gold and feels she finally has a home.
Gideon was a military hotshot who spent nearly two years in Taliban custody being tortured and disavowed by his own government. His body was rescued but his mind is still a prisoner. He moved to Fool’s Gold on a friend’s recommendation and bought a couple of radio stations. He spins oldies on the night shift and keeps to himself, an arrangement he likes and has no intentions of changing.
Four years ago Felicia and Gideon had a one night stand in Thailand. They never expected to see each other again. When they do, sparks fly again.
Felicia and Gideon agree their relationship is only to help Felicia learn to relate to men so she can go on and fall in love with someone more suitable.
Before you can say “Meet me at Brew-ha-ha,” their plan unravels. A son named Carter, whom Gideon never knew he had, arrives in Fool’s Gold and Felicia steps in to help out during their adjustment period. She doesn’t expect to fall in love with the teenager much less know how to mother him. She’s surprised at the depth of her feelings for both the father and the son.
Gideon is overwhelmed by his sudden fatherhood and retreats into his own mind, convinced he’s too damaged to love or be loved by anyone.
Carter yearns for a family and conspires to get Felicia and Gideon to realize their feelings for each other. His plan backfires in a way. And it also succeeds in a way. You’ll have to read Two of a Kind to find out how.
I love Susan Mallery and I love Fool’s Gold. As with Just One Kiss, the sex is a bit graphic for me. I like closed door love scenes. But that’s just me. I know plenty of other readers feel differently. So for my friends and regular blog and review readers, remember that caveat, and go on and enjoy Two of a Kind.
* I received a free copy of Two of a Kind in exchange for an honest review. We both kept our end of the bargain.
Writer of Sweet Small Town Stories of Love and Family 