Review: Taking Charge By: Mandy Baggot

Is going back Robyn’s only way forward?

American-born Robyn Matthers is going home. With her dad in hospital, his roadhouse in ruins and the ice hockey team slipping down the league, she needs to take charge. But does she have the strength to do it?

Cole Ryan is a hockey player on a personal mission. He’s tall, dark, hot and Robyn’s noticed! But can she trust her feelings - or his? And what will Cole do when he finds out the truth about her?

Robyn returns to Michigan and things aren’t quite the same. Her best friend has grown up and is thinking about marriage and babies, the ice hockey team is no longer the life blood of the community and her father is engaged!

When Robyn’s twin cousins drag up past events that hold painful memories for her, she and Cole are forced together. But are either of them ready to start something new?

With an ill father, a trailer trash almost step-mom and ex-boyfriend Brad desperate for another chance, does Robyn have time to contemplate a relationship? Does she really want one? And is it physically possible for two people to fall in love in just three days?

My Review:

Robyn Matthers has escaped her past and gotten as far away from Michigan as possible.  She was hoping that all the memories would just disappear.  Then she gets a call from her home-town that her father has fallen ill.  She immediately packs up and gets a flight home to help her dad get everything in order.  She meets Cole at the airport and after a cute introduction become friends.  Especially finding out that they were heading to the same place.  Its just too bad that Robyn is broken.  Cole seems like just the kind of guy to give her what she has been looking for.

Cole had loved hockey all of his life but had hung up his skates to focus on his career.  His dad had died and Cole was determined to find a cure for the disease that took his life.  He was so close!  He had moved to this sleepy little town in order to work with a better team and have more focus.  Cole had his own secrets when it came to past relationships, but Robyn was just too cute to ignore.

A lot happens in this cute little story.  Robyn comes homes to help her father salvage both the bar and the hockey team.  She had her work cut out for her.  Her father's fiancee is basically running the bar into the ground and  the hockey team isn't winning any games.  It was time for her to roll up her sleeves and get to work.  But her past has an ugly way of popping up after all of these years.  Will Robyn be able to try and ave a normal relationship?  Will it survive the fall-out of her past coming to light?  I enjoyed this book!!  It was a great story with a surprising twist.  It follows two very relationship-wary people who are thrown together and end up falling in love.  Both have suffered emotionally and both are a little broken in some ways.  The perfect remedy was for them to heal each other and help each other work through their pasts.