One of the reasons that I like Ms. Campbell’s novels is they’re like taking a little trip to Jamaica, only one that fits my current budget.

Yolanda, Justine’s 14-year-old daughter, is playing guitar. Unknown to Justine, the music shop, Rapporté, where Yolanda prefers to shop and have her guitar worked on, belongs to Xavier. Xavier, the man with whom Justine broke off a passionate affair, seven years ago. The man who is 6 ½ year-old Emile’s father, but doesn’t know it.

Until the day a now-widowed Justine brings Yolanda’s guitar in for more work, and Emile follows his mother into the shop, while Xavier comes out to meet this super-fussy customer.

This novel continues the story of Justine and Xavier from Distraction, but works on its own as a stand-alone; you don’t have to read Distraction to enjoy this novel. However, unlike Distraction, only has one storyline, that of Justine and Xavier. While girlfriends Dionne and Kyra do make cameo appearances, they do not carry their own storylines.

While it takes Xavier only one glance to realize that Emile is his son, he does not know that Justine is widowed. She does not know that Xavier has been separated from his wife for two years, and has already filed for divorce. This novel is about how these two people, who are still so strongly drawn to one another, learn to admit the chemistry is still there, to forgive past wounds, and to work towards a relationship that is complicated by their children.

I felt like this started out a bit slow, and Justine was irritatingly wussy at first. In the middle, it really caught fire. The chapter headings that all begin with a Jamaican proverb are wonderful, and I liked getting to hear from Xavier’s point of view.

The teen girls are interesting in that Justine is overinvolved in Yolanda’s life, while Xavier’s soon-to-be-ex, Annette is seriously underinvolved with Kelleigh, yet despite different kinds of mothering, the girls share identical issues with mouthiness and rebellion. Can’t win for losing!

In the end, despite desperate attempts by Annette to get back at Justine using Emile, it seems like they are well on their way to becoming a happy, blended family.

Or are they? ( )