LynneC’s review of More than Perfect by Day Leclaire
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 7 Feb 12
I enjoyed this book, not quite as much as the first in the series, but it’s still a good, solid read. It is still more Desire than Presents/Modern, with the millionaire more human, a touch less alpha, and the heroine older and more independent minded. I enjoyed it despite the cute kid. I’m not a big fan of cute kids in romance novels.
After a one-night stand with his ex-girlfriend, she tells him she’s going back to his best friend, Geoff. Lucius thinks she’s a bitch, but she tells him he is just as bad and marries Geoff. They are killed in a train accident, leaving their small son in Lucius’s care.
Angie is Lucius’s PA, and secretly in love with him.
Get the setup? Read it before? Probably. But you haven’t read this book about this couple, and that’s what makes Day Leclaire special. While she uses stock plots, she doesn’t use stock characters.
I would love to write a series of books with the same beginning point and the same tropes but with different characters to see how they cope with it, and this, to a certain extent, is what she does.
Lucius finds the perfect PA, Angie, after consulting the program developed by Praetorius and his young assistant. Now he’s using the same program to find a wife, because he wants someone for little Mikey and as a partner. Unbeknown to Praetorius, Angie and said assistant tweak the program a bit, so she appears to be the perfect wife candidate. I like that, instead of mooning around, she answers him back and she does something to get what she wants. So the conflict is set up. What will Lucius do when he discovers her tinkering?
Meantime, Angie and Lucius set about falling in love and fighting for custody of Mikey, when the baby’s grandparents sue. While feeling sorry for them, both Lucius and Angie are appalled by their cold, analytical nature. So they have another reason to stay together.
Lucius is bone-headed, powerful, strong, but he also has a sense of humour and the ability to laugh at himself. So I like him, and I could understand why Angie falls for him. Angie is fully aware of her folly in falling for him, but she won’t take too much from him and she will answer back, so I ended up liking her, too.
This is how to do a Desire right, and while it won’t shake the romance world to its foundation, it is a satisfying, enjoyable read. Together with Day Leclaire’s smooth, accomplished writing style, it makes for a pleasant hour or two.
Grade: B-
Summary:
When billionaire Lucius Devlin inherits his best friend’s child, he needs a wife. Preferably one who fulfills his every need. So he checks out the Pretorius Program, since it had once found him the perfect assistant.…
Angie Colter can’t understand who wouldn’t want to spend time with the sexy, caring and utterly compelling Lucius and darling baby Mikey. Then she discovers his goal. With a few tweaks to the program—and to her appearance—Angie will be the perfect wife! But what if Lucius finds out the truth about his nearly perfect fiancée?Read an excerpt. (scroll down)
