Sunset Bay

Sunset Bay By: Susan Mallery Published Feb.11, 2009 by PocketStar Paperback 342 pages Summary via goodreads.com L.A. accountant Megan Greene has a successful job, a handsome cardiologist fiancé, and a doting father. Surely they make up for her estranged sister and hypochondriac mother...and a niggling sense that something, somewhere, got lost along the way. But then Megan's life falls spectacularly apart. Faced with the knowledge that neither her father nor her fiance; are the men she thought they were, she is loath to trust Travis -- the high school boyfriend who never quite left her heart. But his reappearance stirs dreams she once reluctantly packed away, and forces her to confront her relationship with her sister -- a bond that has been strained to the limit but has never quite broken. And amid the turmoil lies the promise of a future Megan never expected -- one that may turn out to contain everything she really needs.... ****My Review (This does contain spoilers) ****** I must start by saying what a huge fan of Susan Mallery I am. I love and adore her Fool's Gold series and can not get enough of them. I am also a sucker for a good romance story. This book fell flat for me. It was just very unbelievable, even by romance novel standards. It begins in 1998. Megan is the daughter of Tina and Gary. She's a daddy's girl all the way. Her mom frequently tells her she's ugly and will never be popular or have a boyfriend. She has a younger sister who is pretty and popular and seems to be her mother's pet. The sister has no real relationship with the dad, and Megan has no real relationship with her mom.... They talk briefly about the one boyfriend Megan had a couple of years ago, but he did something (we never really know) and he went to prison at age 16. Suddenly Megan is at a party and the boyfriend is there! (they're only 18 here). He is with another girl and is trying to make it obvious to Megan he doesn't want anything to do with her. Only he really does, so 5 minutes later they're making out in the parking lot and then they sneak off to Vegas the next day. Her sister figures it out and blabs to the dad. When they return the dad is very upset with her. And to make matters worse, the boyfriend, who's name is Travis, decides to that he needs to run away from his enabling mom and his drunken abusive dad. He tells Megan he loves her and she has to choose right then and there. Him? or her family? Mind you, she is 18 and has never had a real relationship other than Travis when she was 16, and then again at 18 when they see each other and in 5 minutes are in love and sneaking off to Vegas..... She doesn't choose fast enough and he leaves......... Fast forward to 10 years later when things get really unbelievable. Megan is engaged to Adam, a snake of a man who is a cardiologist. Megan is confronted at work by an attorney who tells her Gary is not her dad, someone else is. That someone else has died and left her an inheritance. She confronts her drama filled mother, and as she does, her father over hears. Immediately, Gary, the man who has loved her and raised her like she was his own, the man who never knew she wasn't, decides he wants no relationship with Megan. Completely washes his hands of her. This is where it gets far fetched to me. Not only does he sever ties with the daughter he was closest to when her world, as well as his comes undone, but he leaves her mother and the mother insists it's somehow Megan's fault. This goes on and on through out the book. The mom telling Megan its her fault, so she needs to pay her bills and take care of her. Next, Megan finds out her lovely Dr. finace has been cheating on her most of their relationship. He tells her that he plans on being loyal once they're married. And then can't understand why she wants to end the relationship. He must come to talk to her a dozen times and tell her she's being unreasonable. Because a marriage should be based on lies and cheating. I guess.... Finally, Travis. They run into each other 10 years later when she's gone to Vegas to distract herself from what is supposed to be her wedding day. They spend the night together and Then Adam ends up at her door in Vegas begging for another chance. Travis takes off refusing to listen to Megan. All the while, his home situation is just as unbelievable. His dad has been in jail for years. Travis had called the police and turned him in for some illegal activity he discovered his dad doing. The mother blames Travis for the father being in jail. Then when he goes home to help his mom with her failing business, he realizes a long time friend has been skimming their books and turns him in. The mom turns on Travis. Finally by the last couple of pages Travis and Megan get it right and end up together. Forever. I think seeing Travis and Megan's relationship grow more in this book instead of maybe 3 or 4 encounters would have helped it a lot. Having the father not turn on Megan, or having that whole thing handled in a more believable way would have made this a better book. I can see Travis's situation. His mom is an enabler and was bound to blame her teenage son for every problem with the dad. That's semi believable..... I am leaving out more, just because these are the 3 main situations and the rest was just as unbelievable as the rest. This book was 3 out of 5 stars for me.