Can’t Buy Me Love

Characters try to determine their self-worth and question what it really means to love in O’Keefe’s weighty contemporary romance. Tara Jean Sweet is hired to pose as the fiancé of wealthy, elderly Lyle Baker in order to lure his son, hockey star Luc, and daughter, impoverished single mom Victoria, back to the Crooked Creek Ranch while Lyle is still alive. The plan works, but Lyle soon dies, and his will stipulates that Luc remain on the Texas ranch for several months; if Luc refuses, Victoria loses the inheritance she desperately needs. Luc thinks Tara Jean is a gold digger, while she considers him a spoiled celebrity. But as they spend time together, an attraction sparks between them, and they each realize there’s more to the other than meets the eye. O’Keefe gives her characters plenty of realistic issues to deal with, including the possible end of Luc’s hockey career. However, the characters’ seesawing emotions, dark pasts, and hurtful attitudes toward themselves and others make them hard to root for at times. Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Associates. (July)