Lynne Connolly’s review of Inherited: One Child (Billionaires and Babies Series) by Day Leclaire
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire 14 Jul 09
When I tried to write for Harlequin, I was told that my hero wasn’t enigmatic enough, that we knew what he was thinking and his reasoning, and they wanted more of an alpha. Day Leclaire manages to do this with aplomb in her new release for Silhouette Desire.
Granted, this book is Silhouette romance, which has a slightly different remit, but this is the first category book I have ever read that is entirely from the point of view of the hero. Yes, you heard it right, Jack is the only point of view character in this book. You see Annalise totally through his eyes.
Annalise’s secret is hinted at early on and it took me all of three chapters to work out, so if the pov was to hide that, it was a failure. But in every other way it was a success. I loved watching Annalise through his eyes, learning her as he does and it was a real change from the usual category romance. I actually loved working the story out early so that I could watched the developing relationship. If anything, Annalise was a bit too perfect, but since we watched her through Jack’s eyes, and he was the man who was falling in love with her, even that is understandable.
I don’t usually read books that feature children upfront and centre, but even that didn’t put me off. The child, a five year old called Isabella, has refused to speak after her parents died in an air crash, and she actually behaves like a five year old. She isn’t precocious, but is a bit on the precious side. I put up with it, because I was fascinated by the two main characters. And especially Jack. Even Jack’s daft premise that if he marries his child’s nanny the authorities won’t take her away from him was something I took in stride. I doubt very much they’d take the child away from a home with an influential, billionaire father who cares for her very much. I could have done without that threat, or with something more realistic.
Jack is your usual millionaire type, but he doesn’t have tantrums and he doesn’t behave like a complete idiot when things don’t go his way. A refreshing change from some of the HMB heroes I’ve read recently.
I really recommend you try this one, despite the icky title. Please, HMB, do something about the titles! But I don’t suppose it’s Day Leclaire’s fault, so I’m still giving her a…
Grade: A
Blurb:
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Billionaire businessman Jack Mason had devised the perfect strategy for keeping custody of his orphaned niece. He’d hire the right nanny and seduce her into marrying him. It should prove easy enough. He was, after all, irresistible.
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Annalise Stefano was ideal. The attractive new nanny had quickly bonded with the little girl. And Jack was anticipating their wedding night more than he’d imagined. Even so, he couldn’t have predicted that Annalise wouldn’t want to become his wife. Or that the secret she was keeping could jeopardize his plans for creating the perfect family.
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Read an excerpt.
