Debbie Macomber – The marriage risk

The second book in the Midnight Sons series, published in 1995.
Genre: contemporary romance
Cover: blah



The mostly male population of Hard Luck, Alaska, is about the swell – because the O’Halloran brothers, who run a bush-plane charter service called Midnight Sons, have launched a campaign to bring women to their hometown.

Charles O’Halloran falls hard for Lanni Caldwell. Though he’s not the marrying kind, she might just convince him to risk taking the leap. Then he discovers she’s the granddaughter of the woman who destroyed his parent’s marriage.


After I enjoyed the first book, Brides for Brothers, I was really looking forward to reading Charles’ story. And I did not even have to search for the book, as I have the duology with both stories in it.

Sawyer O’Halloran has finally caved, and asked Catherine Fletcher’s daughter if he could rent Catherine’s house. Catherine is not aging well, and is living in a home now in Anchorage. She will probably never return to Hard Luck. So Lanni Caldwell has come to Hard Luck to clear out her grandmother’s house. She has a few weeks to spare, as she will start her internship at the Anchorage news paper in a few weeks. Lanni has fond memories about visiting her grandmother at Hard Luck. And she doesn’t mind helping out at Midnight Sons now Sawyer is busy planning his wedding, and their new receptionist/assistant has been delayed. What she does not count on, is to fall hard for a total stranger, Charles O’Halloran.

Charles doesn’t know what hits him, the moment he lays eyes on Lanni Caldwell, he is smitten. He has never been in love before, and he really does not recognize the feeling. But the feeling of jealousy against the man who is accompanying her, is instantaneous. He wants to be the one walking besides her! Charles just thinks she is his brothers’ assistant, and asks her out into the wilderness with him. There is such an instant connection and attraction between them.
But when Catherine’s secret comes out, at his brother’s wedding, and Charles sees how hurt his mother is by this, he doesn’t want to have anything to do with Lanni anymore. Yes, he did tell her he loved her, but his mother’s happiness is more important to him, than his own. Lanni is hurt very much by this, and she doesn’t want to accept it is over between them, but Charles leaves her no choice.

Both Lanni and Charles are hurting, and even Lanni’s brother tries to bring them back together. But only his mother can mend the rift between them, as she is the only one who knows what really happened, and why David married her, instead of the girl who was waiting for him back home in Alaska during WWII.


I enjoyed this book a lot, the emotions between all the characters just feel so real, it was like witnessing it firsthand. Lanni is 10 years younger than Charles, and he has some trouble with that, but Lanni really has not. When she finally founds out everything about the “feud” between her grandmother and the O’Hallorans she feels that her grandmother is the wronged party, and not the O’Hallorans. So why can’t Charles get over it? They are not their parents or grandparents!
Charles is in love for the first time. Thanks to the example of his parents’ disastrous marriage, he never was interested in finding a wife of his own. So when he fell for Lanni, he fell hard and fast. But he loves his mother, and he wants her to be happy, so he thinks he has to give up Lanni, or she will keep reminding his mother of those bad years. Yes, he sure is stubborn.

I am looking forward to reading more Debbie Macomber books (I do have dozens!) as they are just sweet contemporary romances that make you happy. This story is easy to read and well written, and you just have to fall for the scenery and the characters. Of course there is some catching up with the first couple, as their wedding is celebrated in this book, and I enjoyed that very much.

8 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian