Jen's Review: "Sealed with a Kiss" by Carly Phillips

"Sealed with a Kiss" is Carly Phillips' follow up to one of my favorite books of 2006, Cross My Heart (Ty and Hunter, Book 1). Each book stands alone, but as usual it probably makes a lot more sense if you read them in order since the main characters have parts in both stories.

Molly has a budding career and a great boyfriend, Hunter, but what she wants most is a family. So, when she discovers her real father, she leaves everything-and everyone-behind. A year later, Hunter is still not over Molly. She shows up on his door step asking for his help, as a lawyer, when he father is arrested for murder. Hunter can't resist the challenge, but is determined to be the person to walk away in the end.

I liked this book. Not as much as Cross My Heart (Ty and Hunter, Book 1), but it is still a good story. It was an interesting change to see both characters already in love with each other from the beginning, but fighting the attraction because they don't want to get hurt again. The romance part of the story was lacking for me. Since they were already in love with each other, it was more a case of spending time together to realize what they have. So, most of the story was concentrating on solving the murder mystery. And Ms. Phillips does a commendable job is creating an interesting and, while not very deep (this isn't strictly a mystery novel after all), well-written tale.