Gwen’s review of Right Here, Right Now by HelenKay Dimon
Contemporary romance released 26 Feb 08 by Brava

HelenKay is fast becoming one of my favorite authors for snappy dialogue and steamy scenes.  I’m very picky about dialogue – if an author is trying for funny and snappy, it has to be done well.  Otherwise, it just hurts to read.  Dimon does it Very well.

RHRN’s hero is Reed Larkin and the heroine is a wannabe-spy accountant Gabby Pearson.  The story picks up about a month after these two have started dating.  The first scene of the book is the two of them having dinner and breaking up.  It was surprising as hell and I had no idea where on earth the plot was going to go from there, ’cause when I say they broke up, I mean they BROKE UP.  Wine dumped on the head, nasty public scene and all.  It was priceless and totally new to me – fresh and fun to read.

Somehow, Dimon manages to drag this couple thru this huge break-up, a make-up, another break-up, another make-up, and thru some rather amoral usage, manipulation, and downright questionable behavior.   We see spies, evil bureaucrats, and Internal Affairs.  All in ONE book.  It had snappy dialogue all over the place (read the excerpt, linked below) and some fantastic erotic scenes.  Plus, both the hero and heroine have believable personal epiphanies that were very satisfying.  Right Here, Right Now was just a blast to read.

The only critique I have, if I have to have one, was the whole suspense/spy side of the story was a little vague and underdeveloped.  I was left with a feeling of slight anemia.  It wasn’t poorly done – just light.  But, I am reading it for the romance, right?

I recommend this book to anyone who likes quick-moving dialogue (read the excerpt for some fun) and a very satisfying romance.  By the way, HelenKay has a terrific author blog and always has something interesting to say.

Grade: B+

From the back cover:

     It’s Not You, It’s Me… For Gabby Pearson, being dumped in public before the dessert course has to be the lowest of the low—especially when it’s the old, “It’s not you, it’s me” speech. Honestly, how about something original: “I have five minutes to live” (very possible); “It’s not you, it’s the voices in my head” (thanks for the warning); or “I am such a powerful sexual being I could put you into a coma with one kiss” (wishful thinking). Not that Gabby would ever know since Reed Larkin never bothered to take her to bed. Why does a girl bother (to shave)? The only thing left to do is offer the guy a goodbye-forever drink…on his head.

     It’s Me Wanting You Completely… Damn. Reed did his job—he walked away from Gabby rather than drag her into his unstable life and danger. Now he’s wearing her full glass of wine instead of throwing her onto his sheets. It doesn’t help that the woman is smart as hell and could stop a man’s breath with that wide smile and those shapely curves. Gabby has it all, and Reed wants every inch of her. And now the joke’s on him, because new intel says Gabby has just become his assignment: He has one day to win her back, get information from her she may not know she has, and somehow protect her at the same time.

     Right Here, Right Now. Problem? The stakes are high. The odds are impossible. And the mutual attraction is as hot and strong as Gabby’s anger. And Reed can only hope his next speech—“It’s you, baby, it’s definitely you…”—will be the start of something wild, something crazy, something dangerous, something wonderful…

     Read an excerpt.