Retro Friday (32) - Daisy is Back in Town by Rachel Gibson

At First Sight: Daisy Monroe left Lovett, Texas when she was 18 years old and never wanted to look back. She moved to Seattle with her husband and best friend Steven, and they raised their son Nathan there, quite content with their lives.

But on the heels of Steven's death after a long illness, Daisy knows it's time to make things right, to go back and tell the boy she once loved the truth of what happened 15 years ago, the reason why she married their best friend and left town. But Jack Parrish isn't a boy any more.

All those years ago, Jack lost his girl and his best friend and he has never forgiven or forgotten, and Daisy's being in town just serves him to put him on a bad mood, not only because of what happened before, but because even after everything he still wants Daisy as much as he ever did.

But everything changes once Daisy's secret is out: she was three months pregnant when she left, and Jack was the father. Hating Daisy more than ever, Jack endeavors to spend some time with his newly discovered son, namely that he stays for the summer and helps him out on the restoration garage he owns, and while Nathan isn't sure how he feels about his biological father, he does love cars, so the plan should work.. only that it also means Daisy and Jack will have to see a great deal of each other. 

Second Glance: I know a lot of people don't like Daisy is Back in Town - or at least they don't like it that much - but I have always thought it was a rather fun book. Granted, it was one of the first contemporaries I ever read and I tend to look back on those with a particular fondness.

That being said, I think its a good book on it's own, perhaps not Rachel Gibson's best but I've always been a sucker for the secret baby plot so this book totally played to my tastes, and I kind of liked the fact that Nathan was a bit older than usual with this plot device.

The relationship between Jack and Daisy has always been very physical and I really liked seeing how they had to let go of that a bit to learn to like each other as people again, to remember they were once best friends and in love apart from being in lust. Jack's anger is understandable and well played, I thought; and while what Daisy did was rather cowardly and she didn't handle things well, she was quite likable.

In my most recent re-read, I kind of grew annoyed a bit more with Daisy's sister Lily - who's own woes are a major secondary plot - but over all the secondary characters were well done, I particularly liked Jack's brother Billy.

Bottom Line: For me Daisy is Back in Town is a a comfort read. It might not be the most spectacular book out there but it will keep you entertained for a good while, and Gibson's style is easy to get into and the pages just fly by.
1/3

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time!