Hart’s Victory

I loved this installment of Harlequin’s NASCAR series. Hart Hampton went from a hot-shot racecar driver at the top of his game to being essentially unemployed. He drives for his family organization, but he takes nothing for granted. He’s not a spoiled, pampered brat. He earns a salary from the business and gets to keep a portion of his race winnings.

But things take a turn for the worst when, after a couple bad races, he’s removed from the racecar and sent to a camp for terminally ill children. That’s where he meets Charlie and his mom Kellie. Charlie’s questions intrigue him, and he makes time to learn more about the inquisitive youngster. Kellie stays in the background, letting her son have the spotlight with his hero, thinking that after he leaves the camp Hart will never think of them again.

But of course Hart can’t let Kellie go without a fight, and he’s by her side when Charlie makes a turn for the worse with his illness.

I loved Hart and Kellie. She tries so hard to stay strong for her son, but every once in a while her mask would slip and she’d shed some tears over the injustice. Her husband left, and she has no reason to believe that Hart won’t do the same. Only this time he’d break her son’s heart as well as hers.

Their journey is a roller coaster of emotions, and Michelle did an incredible job of pulling me in. At times I felt like I was in the same room as the characters, and I was watching Charlie fight for his life right in front of my eyes. Their story made me laugh, cry, and rejoice in life and second chances. The writing was solid, the characters lifelike and complex. I will definitely be reading this one again.

Michele Dunaway has done it again with another great book. This is her fifteenth for Harlequin, and her first in the NASCAR series. Hart’s Victory has it all – wonderful, believable characters and an intelligent, emotional story.

When single mom Kellie Thompson and her teenage son, Charlie, attend a camp for terminally ill kids, they meet NASCAR driver Hart Hampton, Charlie’s idol. Because of his illness, Charlie believes he won’t be around forever and thinks Hart would be perfect for his mom. The two of them have had a longstanding joke that the reason she isn’t dating is because she’s holding out for Hart, the heart throb of the NASCAR circuit. Charlie seizes the opportunity and does his best to see that the two of them get together.

Hart has been in a losing slump and is coming off a wreck on the track. Although he wasn’t seriously injured, he’s been told to stay away for the weekend and do a bit of charity work at the children’s camp. To improve his playboy image and repair public relations at the same time, Hart reluctantly agrees.

When he meets Charlie and Kellie he instantly falls for both of them. In spite of her attraction to Hart, Kellie rebuffs his attentions. She is one hundred percent focused on getting Charlie healthy. However, Hart doesn’t take no for an answer. He easily wins Charlie over, then he works full time to gain Kellie’s affections. His life may have revolved around auto racing, but now he sees what he’s been missing – a loving family to share it with.

This book works on three levels – the romance, the NASCAR aspect, and the one I found most endearing, Charlie’s fight for his life battling leukemia. This is a heart-wrenching, emotional roller coaster of a read. You will fall in love with Hart, just as Charlie and Kellie do. It doesn’t matter if you are a race fan, this is one character-driven tale of love and devotion that will keep you reading long into the night. Keep the tissue box close

Single mom Kellie Thompson’s beloved son Charlie is battling for his life against cancer. Charlie is a rabid NASCAR fan; so when a NASCAR camp for terminally ill children is arranged, Kellie insures her child attends.

Charlie’s hero NASCAR driver Hart Hampton has been in a slump so is relegated to the charity event for the terminally ill. After meeting mother and son, Hart agrees with Charlie that he and Kellie are perfect for one another. However, she rejects his attention although she is attracted to him; her focus is Charlie. Hart wants both in his life, but though he won the kid over and the mom recognizes he is a caring soul, she still refuses his overtures; Charlie comes in first, second and third.

The romance places second and NASCAR shows up third as the star of this heart-wrenching tale is Charlie as he fights for his life yet wants the best for his mom whom he believes is his hero Hart. The three prime players are fully developed leading to readers feeling deep emotions almost as if they know the ailing child and care for him as much as Hart does. Michele Dunaway provides an angst-laden five tissue box character driven tale.