Lawson’s review of Any Way You Want It by Kathy Love
Paranormal romance released 1 Jan 08 by Brava
Vampires and the Big Easy can go well together. The European charm of New Orleans can lend a great setting to a book for whatever purpose. Add in the fact that the vampire in this story is also a musician and the heroine is on vacation and looking for a fling and the makings of a story take shape. Any Way You Want It works with what it has, but the end result comes up a little short.
Maggie Gallagher is on vacation trying to live her life now that her fiancee has left her. She’s gone for some fun in the French Quarter with her two best friends and they stumble into a bar on Bourbon Street with a great band. Maggie then gets some attention from the lead singer that she tries to brush off at first, but the sparks are there and having a fling, she thinks, could be just what she needs. When she hears him play a piece of music she thinks she knows, that sweetens the deal for her.
Ren Anthony doesn’t want someone figuring out who he is, but Maggie he realizes is special. The fact that she likes his music from long ago is flattering and he likes her and of course wants her in his bed. But their fling turns to more fast and then Ren gets hung up on something that nearly ruins it for them. The thing Ren gets hung up on, it sort of makes sense. Mostly though it’s the man being dense and his brother is there to help straighten him out and thus lead to the HEA in the Big Easy.
It also doesn’t help that Maggie is very insecure because of her ex-fiancee . He didn’t have a high opinon of her and got to believe his point of view. It’s nice to see a woman who’s insecure deal with whatever the fear is by facing it head on, but why she was insecure seemed convenient for good looking vampire Ren to come along and help her rebuild her idea of self worth. Though it is nice to see a woman face her fears head on for something she wants to fight for.
Other than some slightly annoying character traits, Maggie and Ren worked well enough together, though the chemistry was a little milder than I expected. There was a good balance with the secondary characters, both with Maggie’s friends and with Ren’s brother and band mates. If only Ren hadn’t believed something that wasn’t true, the HEA would have rang more true than it felt. In the end though the story and characters are enjoyable, it was a nice way to pass the time but not a keeper for me.
Grade: C+
Blurb:
Is That A Treble Clef In Your Pocket– Or Are You Just Glad To See Me?
Maggie Gallagher spends her nights with lots of men. Of course, they’re all dead composers, but why nitpick? Her love life is just like the musical compositions she researches–undiscovered. It’s time for Maggie to let loose and go wild. In a dive bar on Bourbon Street, Maggie makes a real find in the house band’s keyboard player. He’s hot. Sexy. Flirtatious. Soulful. And she could swear he’s playing an unknown piece she’s been researching, which is impossible, unless he’s dead…
Centuries before he was a badass vampire with a rock-star wardrobe and Big Easy charm, Ren was Renauldo D’Antoni, a composer on the verge of great success until he was betrayed. No one could ever know that, but tonight, the shy strawberry blonde with the big eyes and obviously borrowed outfit actually seemed to recognize his long-lost composition. Now, she wants to know about the composition, and Ren wants to know her…intimately. But what starts as attraction–and distraction–just might lead to the biggest discovery of their lives…
Read an excerpt. [Ed.: Damn! Took me forever to find a bloody excerpt!]
