Veena’s review of Hotshot by Julie Garwood
Contemporary Romance published by Dutton Adult 06 Aug 13
Finn MacBain had saved Peyton Lockhart from drowning as a child. During his school years she had been a nuisance, constantly hanging around him and hero worshiping him. Every year she got in touch with him on her birthday to remember him in thanks for saving her life and staying in touch. Wow! when did she grow into a luscious young woman and could he turn time back and have her hero worship him and hang on his every word again, because now he has to work for her attention. While some things have changed, others have remained constant – she’s in trouble again and only he can save her.
I enjoyed the story with its strong bonds in childhood friendship that grow into romance with its supporting characters of greed and envy, played by the cousin, who wants what the Lockhart sisters have, and then those who will kill to preserve their lifestyles and wealth.
Peyton Lockart has the most horrible taste in men. She seems to constantly fall from the frying pan into the fire with her choices, but it really takes the cake when she accepts a job offer and finds the boss expects sexual favors in exchange for her keeping her job. She escapes with proof of the harassment and finds herself in Florida, an unexpected owner of a resort property along with her sisters.
Even though she has written and emailed Finn as he made his way from the gold medal in the Olympics to Stanford Law School and then a special agent in the FBI, it’s been pretty one sided until they meet at his brother’s wedding. Suddenly the tables are turned and now it’s Finn who wants to hang out with her, but even more so since he finds bullet holes in her car and her plan to bring her erstwhile boss to justice. Well, Finn’s already saved her life once, and it seems like he just needs to make a habit of it.
As the story works itself through the inevitable path of forging a strong romantic relationship and all that goes with it, there are a lot of outside elements that intrude on the path to true love. The resort that is their future livelihood seems to be beset with attempts to sabotage the opening date and drive up their budget, such that they are teetering on the brink of failure. In addition, could her attempt to bring her previous employer to justice really be life threatening? Well, hotshot Finn MacBain is on the job, working by her side to help her succeed in her endeavors.
Ms. Garwood has a whole series of FBI thriller romances and this is a great addition to them, though other than Finn’s partner Ronan, who was featured in one of the previous books, this seems to be a new series. I always enjoy a good old-fashioneded romance, and this book hit it just right for me.
Grade: B
Summary:
Peyton Lockhart has just lost her job as a food critic.
Out of work and in a bad place personally, she is feeling awfully low. But then she’s handed an unexpected opportunity.
She, along with her sisters, is given Bishop’s Cove, a small luxurious oceanfront resort. They must run the resort for one year and show a profit–only then will they own it.
There are countless hindrances to them succeeding. On top of it all she is facing threats from her former employer. When the threats become dangerous, Peyton calls on her childhood friend, Finn MacBain, now with the FBI, and asks for help. He’s come to her rescue before; maybe he can do it again.
Finn excels at everything he tries, but when his relationship with Peyton turns into something he hadn’t expected, he realizes he’s facing the challenge of his life.
Other connected books in this series:
