Liquid Silver Books, $5.95, ISBN 978-1-59578-412-4
Contemporary Romance, 2007

A drunk driver took the life of Brian Campbell eleven years ago but before Brian died, he managed to make his best friend Trevor Scott promise to take care of Brian’s sister Lillian for him. Therefore, when Lil decides at the start of the story that she’s not going to wait for Prince Charming now that she’s 30 since she’s ready to become a single mother, Trevor is understandably concerned. I am quite concerned too because Lil, instead of considering adoption or in vitro methods, decides that she has to have sex with some guy in order to get that baby of hers. Guess who ends up being the sperm donor in this story.

Of course, with the silly woman unnecessarily inserting sex into the equation, you can bet that all those uncomfortable emotions will flare and jettison the comfortable friendship that Trevor and Lil shares. Trevor also has some issues – genuine ones, to give him credit – that stand in the way between them and a happily ever after, however, so they have some way in getting there.

Kelly Wallace’s A Bitter Pill is actually a most readable story. The characters are likable types with some depths to them. The relationship sometimes resemble a shrink session when Lil tries to help Trevor confront his insecurities, but still, Lil is a pretty sweet character and I can’t really fault her for that. The only downside of this story is how dated it can feel, what with the whole “we must have sex to have a kid” thing and all. But even that is not really a problem for me since I enjoy the rest of the story pretty well despite that.

All in all, this is a simple and down-to-earth yet pleasantly enjoyable story.