Lynne Connolly‘s review of Bought: Damsel In Distress by Lucy King
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Presents 1 Jan 10

A goodie. Even the title, if taken ironically, isn’t too bad. The blurb, however, is pretty dire. 

Due to a baggage strike at Heathrow, Emily can’t attend the wedding of her ex in France, and her sister thinks Emily needs closure. While she and Tom didn’t work out, she’s allowed herself to drift, and she needs to move on.

So her sister puts Emily up as a damsel in distress on “an Internet auction site.” Emily, while outraged, goes along with it when her sister gets the details of Luke Harrison. He’s willing to give her a lift in his jet, as he’s going there anyway. Hang on, a hero and heroine who know how to use the Internet? Wow. It is really good to read about people who accept the net as part of their lives, sending emails, not letters, carrying laptops and using them, not bunches of paper.

Of course Luke is gorgeous, but although there’s a definite spark between them, he doesn’t try to blackmail her or threaten her into sleeping with him. So I liked Luke. This being a romance, they do sleep together, and then part, to go their own ways. Only, this being a romance, they don’t.

And no, she doesn’t get pregnant from that weekend’s encounter. Hooray. Really. Sometimes I dislike the pregnancy forcing the h/h together. It doesn’t always work, although it’s being used quite a lot.

Emily is a confident, modern woman in control of her life, and praise be, not a virgin. Luke is a futures trader, and since this is the line for it, he’s wealthy, but he lost his wife three years before in a car accident. Praise be again, he loved his wife, and toward the end says he’ll always love her. He didn’t discover she was having an affair, tricked him into marriage or anything else. I really enjoyed that aspect. He’d let his life atrophy a bit, although he had dated since his wife’s death, he hadn’t met anyone he liked enough to take to bed. So not a manslut.

The dialogue between Emily and Luke was great. I could see the attraction developing as they got to know each other and I enjoyed the insights into each others’ minds they revealed when they talked. Witty, intelligent and just right.

I did find the end a bit of a disappointment, with one of the old Harlequin tropes coming into play but I can’t say that it spoiled my enjoyment overmuch because by then we were pretty much on the downward slope to the happy ending. I did, however, like Emily’s explanation of why she didn’t want a baby, ever. It rang true. And the reason why she liked being a high-ranking temp, although I find it hard to believe that companies would trust a temp with confidential material, without that temp being a consultant, or signing a confidentiality agreement. So I mentally wrote one in.

Since it’s spoiled by the official blurb anyway, yes, Emily does get pregnant later on. I just want to know what brand of condoms Harlequin heroes use, because you can almost guarantee they won’t work. I really don’t want to come across that brand.

I think this is Lucy King’s debut book for Harlequin, at any rate, I haven’t come across her work before. A good one, and I’ll definitely be looking out for more of her books in future. A for this book. Go, Lucy!

Grade: A

Blurb:

Billionaire’s bid.

Luke Harrison is always in control. But ever since he bid for the chance to save a green-bikinied beauty he’s felt his self-possession slipping away.

Blind date.

Independent Emily does not want rescuing – until Luke, a smouldering knight in shining armour, swoops in on his private jet and starts to change her mind!

Secret baby?

Neither is prepared for the heat between them as Emily unbuttons her steely-eyed billionaire, or for when their no-strings fling leads to pleasure beyond their imagining.

Read an excerpt here.