Eli Liontakis is a scientist, a world-renowned one. He’s young, he’s sexy, and he’s currently unattached. He also has a motherless young daughter, Grace, that he wants to get to know better and to help. He’s willing to teach at a small college in Georgia if his daughter will be taught there at a summer program. He knows who wants to teach Grace: Liza Kincaid. Liza, who refuses to perform in public, is a magnificent dancer and he is intrigued with her.

Liza is slightly annoyed, charmed and stunned by Eli. He demands she come to New York to meet him during one of the busiest times in Liza’s year, he pushes her to take on Grace, and then he intrigues her with a hint of his past. Liza owes her happiness and stability to the school at which she teaches. She loves her students and is interested in Grace. She and Grace reach an understanding and Liza helps her to communicate with her father.

Soon Eli is embroiled in a potentially ugly custody battle with his ex-wife’s parents. Rumors fly and Liza is pulled into taking sides. That highlighted one of my problems. I didn’t see what Eli sees in Liza. She is supposed to be passionate and concerned. Generally she seemed cautious and less than enthusiastic about what she seems forced to do by others. Her past life is as tragic as Eli’s, though more private, but she never seems to totally come out of her slump. And apparently they do make love and enjoy it, but even then she doesn’t seem too enthused about being with him.

Eli should be fascinating. I enjoyed a scene showing Eli teaching a young student and admired his patience, given that his understanding of the subject was so far advanced from the student’s. But although I was more fascinated with him than with Liza, he’s often too demanding and insensitive. He loves his daughter and fights for what he wants, but he didn’t totally enchant me the way he was supposed to.

Even the setting - the small school that cares and nurtures its students - didn’t do it. The petty backbiting and political maneuvers behind the scenes overwhelms its charm. That bickering seemed realistic, but didn’t make the place endearing. I kept wondering why Liza stuck around as an adult.

Over all the story had potential, but the characters and the plot just couldn’t keep my interest. Part of the problem may be that the story wasn’t big enough for the size book it needed to fill. The tension between father and daughter, hero and heroine, in-laws and parent, good school administrators and bad, just wasn’t sharp enough. I’ll go as far as saying the author made me like the story but love - no.

--Irene Williams