Series: Dante Legacy (Book 9)
A secret Dante
All his life, Gabe Moretti has denied his Dante heritage-but when he
meets Kat Malloy, his late wife's cousin, the Dante Inferno cannot be
ignored. He tells himself it's only business-her hand in exchange for a
necklace his mother created. But when one touch leads to another-and a
kiss leads to more-Gabe realizes he's in over his head. Because Kat has
secrets he needs to uncover. And now he'll have to do the one thing he's
sworn never to do-go to his Dante relatives to find out the truth about
this powerful passion....
Good book. Gabe is the illegitimate son of a Dante, but wants nothing to do with them after being ignored his whole life. When Gabe and Kat meet, their first touch ignites the Dante Inferno. Gabe heard about it from his mother but ignored it as nothing but a fairy tale. He is stunned and very unhappy to feel this overwhelming passion for a woman he feels betrayed his late wife. He goes to the Dante patriarch to find out the truth about the Inferno. I loved Gabe's interactions with the Dantes once he finally meets with them. Over the next few weeks his feelings grow for Kat and things come out that cast doubt on the betrayal. Kat has been paying for her actions for five years. Now she wants to come home and reconcile with her grandmother, but she needs Gabe's help for that. She doesn't like the passion she feels for Gabe, but after awhile of trying to fight it she decides to give in and enjoy it while she can. She also doesn't expect that passion to turn to love. When information comes out about the events of five years earlier she has to decide whether to trust Gabe with her heart. This is Day LeClaire's last book for Harlequin Desire, so I don't know if Gabe's sister will get a story or not. I hope she does!
Her Problem
As a busy single mom to her teenage daughter, Kristi Callahan doesn't
have time for a man. But it sure would be nice if her mother believed
that, too. She keeps setting Kristi up on disastrous blind dates,
determined to find her "the one."
His Problem
After Nate McTavish's wife died, he was faced with raising his twin
little girls alone. Making it up as he goes along and sometimes
questioning his daddy skills, he also has to fend off women his
well-meaning family keep throwing at him.
Their Solution
When Nate hires Kristi to stage his house before selling it, they
instantly realize they've found the perfect answer to their problem: be
fake dates for each other! It's a great plan-until they start to wonder
if the real thing might not be even better....
Very good book. Kristi and Nate are both single parents. They also suffer from family members who are always trying to fix them up with dates. When Kristi is hired by Nate to get his house ready to sell they decide to help each other out by pretending to date. They quickly discover that they enjoy spending time together and that there is an undeniable attraction between them. I really liked Nate and Kristi. Nate is raising his twin girls after the death of their mother. He's not perfect at it - he has trouble keeping up with the housework and meals can be a challenge. But there is plenty of love to go around and that makes up for a lot. When Nate hires Kristi to ready his house for sale, he doesn't expect to feel an immediate connection to her. The more time he spends with her the more he wants their fake dates to be real. I loved seeing how good he was with his little girls and how hard he tried to be a good father. I liked the way he had no problem asking Kristi for help. Kristi was a great mom. She has an excellent relationship with her daughter and has worked very hard to be a good example for her - perhaps a little too hard. She doesn't really date because she doesn't want to take a chance on another loser. Unfortunately she has to deal with her famiily members trying to set her up, so she is quite willing to enter into the fake dating relationship with Nate. She doesn't expect to find herself wishing that the relationship was real. I really loved seeing the way that she was able to help Nate deal with some of the issues he had with family and home. I also enjoyed seeing how invested she got in making Nate's house so much better. I also liked seeing how terrific her daughter was and how she was the one who made Kristi see that a real relationship with Nate was possible.
Series: Billionaires and Babies
Rock-a-Bye Billionaire
No problem's too big for CEO Alexander Bajoran...until a baby is left in
his boardroom with a note stating he's the daddy. The mother must be
Jessica Taylor, an unforgettable though regrettable one-night stand. Why
would she do such a thing?
When Jessica returns, desperate and remorseful, there's no way Alex will
let her walk away with his son. And after discovering that she's
connected to his jewelry empire's biggest rival, the mogul wonders if
the pregnancy really was an accident. What will he gamble to keep his
heir...and the woman who still has a stranglehold on his heart?
Very good book. I really liked both Alex and Jessica. Jessica and Alex had had a one night stand and she never expected to see him again. She had been incredibly attracted to him from the beginning, but she recognized him as the man whose company had ruined her family. Her cousin had convinced her to see if she could find anything with which to get revenge and she had. Before she could return it, he had left and she hid it away. When she discovered she was pregnant she left her job at the hotel and tried to find work elsewhere. By the time the baby was three months old she was desperate and left the baby at his office. She couldn't just walk away and showed up that night. Alex wasn't going to just let her walk away, so he convinced her to stay. I loved Jessica's attitude. She didn't really mind the loss of her former socialite lifestyle and had been happy with her hotel life. She knew she shouldn't get involved with Alex but the attraction was too strong to resist. When she showed up a year later I loved the way she owned up to what she did, but also stood up to him over the things she hadn't done. I liked the fact that she didn't try to keep the baby away from Alex once he knew. I also loved the way she surprised him at the fundraiser and how it worked for them. Alex was also a really great hero. I liked the fact that even after the one night stand he tried to find her so they could be together. He was furious over what he saw as her deception and the way she didn't tell him about the baby. But he did listen to what she told him about her family and investigated. I loved the way he took to Henry almost right away and how good he was with him. I really love seeing these tough guys turn to goo over a baby. It took him a little while to realize what he felt for Jessica was love, but when he did it was fantastic. I loved seeing what he did about the mess with her family and the epilogue was great. I do wish I knew what happened with her cousin.
A child is missing. The words chill Detective Mike Ryan and bring to mind memories of his own tragedy.
He'll dedicate every resource he has until the girl Sicily is found,
safe…and alive. His investigation hits a snag with Sicily's aunt and
guardian, Beth Greenway. Beth's cool demeanor is at odds with the
situation, making him suspicious. She's definitely hiding something. But
the more time he spends with her, the less he believes that something
is about the missing niece. And with all that contact, Mike sees Beth's
vulnerabilities. Suddenly, he wants to protect her, even while he wants
to know her secrets.
As the search hits one roadblock after another, Mike's dedication
intensifies. He needs to bring Sicily home for Beth…but also for the
future he wants with them.
Very good book and incredibly emotional. Sicily disappeared while she and her aunt Beth were at the beach. When Mike arrived to question her, he was disturbed by how cool and calm she seemed to be. He senses that something isn't right and keeps pushing her with his questions. As he keeps coming back to her for more information he begins to feel that she isn't behind the disappearance. He is also there as the mask starts to slip and sees the vulnerable woman underneath the control. As he learns her secrets he wants to protect her as much as he wants to find Sicily. I really liked both Beth and Mike. Beth had overcome terrible abuse as a child, and as a result had learned to hold her emotions in rigid control, never getting close to anyone. She was stunned to find herself with custody of her niece, not knowing if she was capable of raising the child. Her terror at Sicily's disappearance caused her shell to begin to crack. She was angry when she realized she was under suspicion, but eventually understood why. She was also relieved when she discovered that Mike was determined to find Sicily. Because of the intensity of the time they spent together, they got close very quickly. She was able to tell Mike of the abuse she suffered which was a great relief to her. When she was able to confront her parents during the search, Mike stood by her. Her pain over Sicily's disappearance, the reliving of her childhood, and the ups and downs of the search were so emotional it was at times exhausting just to read it. I really liked Mike too. He came off as really cold at first, but it was his job to find out if Beth was a suspect. His gut said no, but he had to be sure so he kept pushing. The other problem that he had was that as time went on he began to really admire her. Then his feelings got even stronger. This put him in a hard place, because he had to remain objective. I loved the way that he wouldn't give up on either Beth or finding Sicily. His compassion for Beth in helping her talk about her abuse, then just being there for her was very moving. And the way that he was able to track down the guy that had taken Sicily said a lot about his persistence. I loved the way that they admitted their feelings at the end, but admitted that they needed to take more time with each other. I also liked the scenes from Sicily's point of view and seeing how she was handling her abduction. I would have liked an epilogue that shows them a year or so later.
Series: Billionaires and Babies
When billionaire Lucius Devlin inherits his best friend's child, he
needs a wife. Preferably one who fulfills his every need. So he checks
out the Pretorius Program, since it had once found him the perfect
assistant....
Angie Colter can't understand who wouldn't want to spend time with the
sexy, caring and utterly compelling Lucius and darling baby Mikey. Then
she discovers his goal. With a few tweaks to the program -- and to her
appearance -- Angie will be the perfect wife! But what if Lucius finds
out the truth about his nearly perfect fiancee?
Take one hot but ruthless billionaire. Add in one unexpected baby. Now you have a man who needs someone to be a mother to the child, but who doesn't want an emotional connection because he's been betrayed before. Lucius wanted the best for baby Mikey, but he had no intention of opening himself up for more heartbreak. When he gets the computer programmer to tweak the program to help him, he gets more than he expected. Angie had been in love with him almost from the time she started to work for him, but he never saw it. So she colluded with one of the programmers and got it to spit out her name as the perfect wife for him. They were amazingly compatible, and the more time they spent together the closer they got. Then Lucius found out what Angie had done... The conclusion was great, and I loved the way it all came together. I hope to see a story for Jett in the future.
