Laura C’s review of Black Ties and Lullabies by Jane Graves
Contemporary Romance published by Forever 1 Jul 11
Bernadette Hogan is responsible. Responsible for everything and everyone. Former military, she has become a bodyguard and has been making good money for a couple of years protecting millionaire playboy Jeremy Bridges. She sticks out the job even though she finds Bridges annoying because the pay is good and her mother’s Alzheimer’s is slowly destroying her, and Bernie knows before long she’ll be paying someone to take care of her.
One night, annoyance turns to anger turns to attraction, and Bernie and Jeremy have sex. Bernie quits, resolving to stay away from him forever. Unfortunately, her resolution is short-lived as she finds out she’s pregnant. Still, she decides she will raise the child away from Jeremy’s bad influence. She just needs to get him to agree….
Baby-as-matchmaker is not my favorite plot device. Graves handles it well, but I still didn’t like this book nearly as well as Hot Wheels and High Heels or Tall Tales and Wedding Veils. The relationship between Jeremy and Bernie is predicated on the baby, and the vast majority of the conflict is external. Bernie is attracted to Jeremy but hates his lifestyle and the fact that he appears to be a complete jerk. Jeremy is attracted to Bernie but is not self-aware enough to figure out why. Jeremy changes in ways that make it acceptable for Bernie to love him. She doesn’t change at all.
Luckily, the thin plot and lack of emotional tension between the leads is saved by the other relationships and Graves’ trademark sense of humor. The book reads easily and quickly, and there are even a few laugh-out-loud moments. For example, this description of Bernie’s coworker:
Lawanda dropped a Subway sack on the desk, clunked her tote bag down beside it, and set a small cooler on the floor. She wore a lime-green baby-doll top with layers of sequin-lined ruffles, a pair of jeans, astronomical green pumps, and silver hoop earrings so huge they grazed her shoulders. False eyelashes stuck out approximately a foot in front of her face, and her cherry-red lipstick glowed by the light of the security monitors. Lawanda’s sense of style entered a room before she did. And because she was a plus-size woman, it filled every molecule of space once it was there.
Bernie’s concern and care for her mother add a touch of seriousness and sweetness and allow the characters to show new sides.
All in all, this is a fun, light book without the dark angst so many romances present. Great for the pool, but a little light on content.
Grade: B-
Summary:
A good girl can be bad for one night . . .
Bernadette Hogan doesn’t make mistakes. Not when it comes to caring for her mother, and not at her job protecting Texas’s most eligible—and infuriating—bachelor. Maybe that’s why she’s overcome with guilt after one tiny indiscretion: a passionate fling with her boss that’s left her confused, intrigued . . . and pregnant.
but can a bad boy be good for a lifetime?
To self-made millionaire Jeremy Bridges, women are like fine wine: if held for too long, they sour. But one wild night with Bernadette changed all that. She makes him laugh, she makes him think, and soon she’s going to make him a father. For the first time, Jeremy wants to be a one-woman man. So how can he convince the fiercely independent Bernadette he’s ready to change from partying playboy to dependable dad—and become the loving husband she deserves?Read an excerpt.
