Reviewed by L.D.Y.
Mass-market, 353 pages, 2002
Rating: 7/10
Reason for Reading The cute cover.
Synopsis: Lola, an ex-lingerie model, takes refuge from bad press on a friend’s boat, only to awake to find the boat has been stolen – or commandeered, as her kidnapper claims – by a mysterious man named Max who says he works for a division of the government that officially does not exist. Lola is not impressed with the annoying but gorgeous Max, but there might be a favour that he can do for her…
Why you should read this book: This is one of the romance books with the cute but sexy covers that’s trying to convince a younger audience that romance novels don’t have to have a cheesy picture of Fabio on the cover. For the most part, the content delivers. Lola might be a bit of a flake, but she’s got a mind of her own. The adventures at sea add a bit of adventure to the story.
Why you should avoid this book: This is a fairly predictable romance novel.
Opening paragraph:
Of all the humiliations Lola Carlyle had suffered in her life – and the list was long and juicy – seeing her naked pictures on the Internet was without a doubt the worst. Anyone with a modem and a credit card could view fifteen different photos of her in the buff. Each one a bit more embarrassing than the last. Knowing that they were out there was a constant disgrace, a weight on her shoulders, an anvil on her head pressing into the skull.
Fabulous quotes:
‘If I did have napalm, you’d be barbeque,’ she said before she thought the better of it. Then her self-preservation kicked in and she took a few steps back.
Yep, she’d insulted him and hurt his feelings. Or rather, what passed for his feelings, because she wasn’t certain he had normal human emotions. She lowered her hand and looked down at the wool blanket pooled in her lap. She didn’t want to think of Max as having normal human emotions. She didn’t want to think of him as a person. He was responsible for the current situation, and he was responsible for putting her and Baby into danger. If it wasn’t for Max, Baby wouldn’t be on the Dora Mae, and he wouldn’t have fallen overboard.
Max waded into the surf and forced thoughts of Lola from his mind. She was a civilian, just like any other civilian. This was a job, like so many others he’d been given. Years of discipline allowed him to detach himself from everything but what needed to be done. Waves hit his chest as he stuck the fish knife between his teeth so he wouldn’t lose it, then he kicked out and swam. Just the top of his head and his eyes broke the surface of the water as he made his way out five hundred feet. He made not a ripple or a splash as he turned and swam parallel to the shore.
Also Recommended: No Strings Attached by Alison Kent; Simply Divine by Wendy Holden; Girls Night by Stef Ann Holm; Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella.
Also by this author: I’m in No Mood for Love; Sex, Lies, and Online Dating; The Trouble With Valentine’s Day; Daisy’s Back in Town; See Jane Score; It Must Be Love; Truly Madly Yours; Simply Irresistible; True Confessions.
Author’s website: rachelgibson.com
© Lisa Yanaky 2003-2007