TAKING CHARGE was a nice romance. Robyn Matthers is, in the words of Cole Ryan, "straight talking, unpretentious, bossy, opinionated, determined" and just the girl for him. Cole Ryan meets her in the airport when the strap on her backpack breaks and he helps her pick up her stuff. They find out they are going to the same place - Portage, Michigan - and they spend the flight talking. Robyn is a real motor mouth who uses constant conversation to keep from worrying about the trip. She is on her way home to see her sick father. She has been gone nine years. She left with her mother and hasn't made trips back.Cole is going there to work at a medical research lab. He has suffered the recent trauma of having his girlfriend dump him for his brother. He isn't ready for another relationship since he is still getting over the fallout of the last one. He not only lost a girlfriend but he lost his relationship with his brother too. But when Robyn says good-bye with a hot kiss, he may have to rethink this no relationship plan of his.Robyn finds that lots has changed in the time she has been gone. Her father has a new fiance that Robyn is determined not to like, his roadhouse has gone downhill and become a hangout for bikers and druggies, and his beloved hockey team is now the worst in the league. Robyn needs to take charge and use all of her organizational skills to get things back on the right track. Keeping busy will also keep her from thinking about the reason she left town. She was raped on her way home from one of the hockey games and had to go through a trial where a neighbor boy who had a crush on her was convicted of the crime. Now he is back in town and still proclaiming his innocence. New evidence has come to light that allows a new trial. And DNA evidence proves that he wasn't the rapist. That means the rapist is still around and Robyn is guilt stricken that the wrong person was convicted of the crime. Cole and Robyn have a great relationship because each of them accepts the other despite their flaws and quirks. I really liked both Robyn and Cole and was pulling for them to get it right. Readers looking for a fun, light read that still has some emotional depth will enjoy this story.
