I don't think I've read this author before but I'm definitely going to try her again. This was a lovely story about a woman who runs a boarding house and has a small girl with a facial deformity. They meet a poor young Italian man in a park and as he doesn't seem to notice her daughter's deformity the heroine, Laura, persuades him to come and board with her. Eventually she persuades him to marry her and become her daughter's father as he, Gino, and the daughter, Nikki, are so fond of each other. Gino loves another woman who married his brother instead and so decides since he will never love again to marry Laura for Nikki's sake. But of course they eventually fall in love.

The story took place over many months and you could see them growing closer. The emotions seemed real. Gino, especially was a lovely character, very well written with many layers. Nikki was important to the story but she didn't take it over and her actions were appropriate for her age. Laura's actions and feelings as the mother of a daughter whom others shunned were very realistic I felt.

The ending was just a bit too fast for me with others involved in getting the two to admit their feelings. I felt the story would have been even stronger if they had had more face to face interaction to reveal their love but that is a pretty minor quibble considering how strong the rest of the book was. ( )