With typically cheerful panache, Krentz (a.k.a. Amanda Quick) shamelessly pilfers from her previous offerings (Trust Me, 1995, etc.) for this newest romance. Scientific consultant Harry Stratton Trevelyan, Ph.D., is another of the author's logical, methodical, amber-eyed heroes. Dispassionately, or so he believes, Harry decides to have an affair with Molly Abberwick. He envisions logical, mutually satisfying companionship and sex (he likes Molly's ripe curves), so he invites her to his streamlined Seattle high-rise to discuss the matter calmly over tea. Molly—in the manner of Krentz's spirited, capable, green-eyed heroines—goes ballistic, doesn't believe in logical passion, and certainly doesn't feel logical about the granitely masculine Harry, a descendant of carnival stuntmen and fortunetellers, a man who can write learned textbooks and catch knives with his sensuous bare hands. Molly, owner of the Abberwick Tea and Spice Co., lives closer to Earth in a crazy Victorian mansion filled with the strange inventions of her late father: robots that dust and polish; an Automated Wine Cellar; a Food Storage and Preparation Machine that prepares complete meals when its buttons are pushed. Molly has hired Harry to be consultant to the Abberwick Foundation, started by her father to bankroll struggling inventors. Like other Krentz protagonists, the two begin at odds, but—naturally—have a lot in common: Both are orphans (like an earlier Quick hero, Harry was too late to save his murdered parents but did kill their assailants); both are self-made; and both are their families' most reliable breadwinners. As Molly's yin and Harry's yang go head to head, someone begins to threaten her life. Harry, also gifted with clairvoyance, rescues Molly; she, in turn, teaches Harry to accept his illogical gift, reconciles his bickering family, and saves him from the abyss of a lonely life. The usual slick Krentzian invention: It pushes all the right buttons—and it always works. (First printing of 180,000)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-671-77873-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1995
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005,...
Murder mixes with anguish in steamy Savannah.
FBI-trained hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara is a lieutenant in the Savannah police department. Ever since Phoebe and her family were held hostage when she was 12, her mother has been agoraphobic, and Phoebe and her brother Carter still bear the psychological scars, but Phoebe’s used the memory to hone her skills. While talking a suicidal bartender off a ledge, she meets his boss, Duncan Swift. The charming millionaire coaxes her into meeting for a drink, and their relationship slowly deepens. But life takes a turn for the worse when a misogynist cop botches a hostage situation. Suspended, he blames Phoebe and retaliates by viciously attacking her in the precinct house stairwell. He loses his job, but his father’s connections keep him out of jail. Phoebe is physically and mentally injured, but her family and her blossoming relationship with Duncan help her cope until a dangerous pattern develops: A strange man keeps crossing her path. Dead animals begin appearing on her doorstep. A hostage taker is shot after she talks him into surrendering. Her ex-husband is brutally murdered by the mystery man, who phones her with sadistic threats. Is it the spiteful disgraced cop or someone from her past? Phoebe must identify the killer before he can carry out his final outrage.
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005, etc.).Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-15434-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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