Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of A Holiday Romance by Carrie Alexander
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin SuperRomance 9 Jun 09

I tend to get a bit bitchy defensive in regards to my Harlequin reading. Oh, I’m used to dealing with the slings and arrows of the non-romance reading set. What I tend to resent is when I have to justify my Harlequin love to other romance readers. Carrie Alexander’s latest SuperRomance is just the kind of book I love to throw out at these non-believers. No babies (secret or otherwise) and no tycoons (Greek or otherwise). Just two healthy adults who fall in love after being thrown together by circumstance. And no, that’s not boring.

Alice Potter is finally getting off tiny Osprey Island, off the coast of Maine. Having spent the last several years caring for her ill mother, Alice is having herself an adventure. Her mother left her money in her will with explicit instructions that Alice go on vacation. Hoping to stretch that money into several trips, Alice decides to go the home-swap vacation route. While a police officer is staying in her cottage on the island (see last year’s Nobody’s Hero), Alice will be staying in his parents’ condo at a swank Arizona resort.

When she arrives it’s not quite what she was expecting. She seems to be the only person under the age of 70 and it’s the off-season. Arizona in July. The heat is so stifling it’s amazing she doesn’t melt the moment she steps off the plane. But she’s determined to make the most of it, with everything from horseback riding, to hiking, to boating. What she does not expect is to catch the eye of the resort’s manager, Kyle Jarreau.

Kyle is all work and no play. This is a particularly stressful time for him since the corporate big-wigs are due in a couple of weeks to have the final say on a big promotion he’s been gunning for. He’s got the resort operating like a well-oiled machine, and he’s not above making tough decisions. Oh, like firing his own kid sister when she breaks company policy. One of those policies? No fraternizing with the guests. He’s never been a “rules are made to be broken” kind of person. Not with the way he was raised. But the moment he sees Alice and spends time with her, he finds himself tap-dancing around a lot of rules.

This story is a bit of a slow starter, but it’s a real emotional charmer once it gets moving. Alice is just a flat-out nice person. You want to be friends with someone like Alice. A person who will always have a shoulder for you to cry on or help you out of a jam. This vacation is her chance to be someone she’s not. To break out of her rut. To not be “ordinary” Alice, but to be “fun, up for anything” Alice.

Kyle is ambitious to a fault, and when the reader gets to know his family, it’s easy to understand why he’s such a stick-in-the-mud. He wants better for himself, but it’s come at a high cost. His first meeting with Alice was an impulsive move on his part, and once he’s had a taste, he can’t help but go back for more. However it’s a sticky situation. Because as much as he is beginning to care for her, he has his job and future to think of. It makes for one emotionally charged ending.

I really liked this story an awful lot. I adored Alice’s sense of sweetness and adventure. I liked that while she had been living a sheltered life for the last several years, she wasn’t dead below the waist and she wasn’t naive. Kyle is suitably handsome and charming, but he does have to work to prove to the reader that he deserves Alice. He stumbles more than once, but redeems himself amiably at the end. It’s a sweet, sigh-worthy story that hits all the right notes, and I couldn’t get enough.

Grade: B+

Summary:
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A summer holiday in the desert—what had she been thinking? Extreme heat? Scorpions? Senior citizens? Check.
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This home-swap vacation had seemed like such a great idea at the time…. Huh. Yet Alice Potter might actually get the romantic adventure she’s only ever dreamed about, as resort manager Kyle Jarreau sends her adrenaline into overdrive. Sadly, the resort frowns on socializing with guests, and Kyle has always been a stickler for rules…until now. Seems Alice can be quite tempting when she puts her mind to it. But can they keep their romance a secret or will their Arizona fling burn them both?
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Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Limecello’s review of Real Men Do It Better by Susan Donovan, Lora Leigh, Lori Wilde, and Carrie Alexander
Erotic romance anthology released 6 Feb 2007 by St. Martin’s Griffin.

They say that Real Men do it better… and they do, at least in this book.

His Body Electric by Carrie Alexander

I liked this novella because it was unique, yet at the same time… common. The hero, Gabe Tomzak is a human lightening rod. The heroine, Karen Jaffe is a divorcee who left New Jersey when her husband traded her in for a younger actress wannabe. She returns home to Iowa to the glamorous life of an amateur sculptor, and virtual service rep, answering 1-800 calls. The story runs on a short timeline, but the forced proximity causes the characters to open up, and their relationship is very believable. I enjoyed the give and take between Karen and Jaffe, as well as the comic relief provided by an overly conscientious ex-boyfriend.

Grade: B+

Bed and Breakfast by Susan Donovan

The old story of opposites attracting, yet Ms. Donovan makes it work. Kate Dreyfuss and Jorey Matheny couldn’t be more different – on the surface. Flash floods not only threaten Kate’s life when she makes the foolhardy decision to leave on foot, but also restrict them to the lodge. It was nice seeing Kate learn to relax and let go, and Jorey is a terrific character- the friend/boyfriend everyone wants. My only issue, is that at times the “new age stuff” got to be a bit much for me. I felt minor disbelief as to Jorey being so centered- but what got me most was all the super vegan food. There was also some minor drama to throw a kink into Kate and Jorey’s budding relationship, which I didn’t love, but can understand why it was added.

Grade: B-

For Maggie’s Sake by Lora Leigh

I tend to like Lora Leigh’s books, and I enjoyed this one more than some of her recent ones. My biggest beef with this novella is that it was too short. It could (or should) have been a chapter in another book. Maggie Samuels and Joe Merino have history, with no closure. When Maggie’s husband Grant dies, her delicate position causes Joe to step up and take charge. The emotions were well written, and the concerns Maggie and Joe have valid. Their interaction is believable, and entertaining. Of course, this was a very hot, with wild monkey sex.

Grade: B+

Siren’s Call by Lori Wilde

I liked this novella, but unfortunately Duncan Stewart and Annie Graves didn’t really draw me in. They were friends growing up, but a night of passion led to regrets, and a separation. They had a cute story, but I felt too much depended on their past. The reader is thrown into the present with all of Duncan and Annie’s baggage, and told to believe they can pick up essentially where they left off. Despite the fact that they haven’t interacted in years. Annie gives a token protest, but I wasn’t completely convinced. I felt that the book could have taken place a month after their split, not five years. Something else that bothered me was the excessive emphasis on Annie’s Harvard degree. I like snarking about Harvard as much as the next person, and ribbing Harvard friends – but I don’t need to read about it every few pages. Also, the education system is a hot button for me. Annie supposedly has a Harvard MBA, but she only went there for undergrad. Therefore, she might have a degree from Harvard Business School, but no Masters of Business Administration. Rawr.

Grade: C+

I happened upon this book, and had to read it because of Lora Leigh’s Tempting SEALs series. I wasn’t disappointed -  this is one of the best anthologies I’ve read in a while. I’d definitely recommend reading Real Men Do It Better, and plan on looking into the backlists of these authors.

Overall Grade: B+

     Summary:

     Every woman knows real men do it better, and these contemporary erotic romance writers prove why.

     Bed and Breakfast by Susan Donovan
     A stressed-out corporate dynamo finds a rustic lodge under renovation and the hunky owner, who had no idea she was coming. After a downpour strands her, he helps “center” her in ways she never imagined.

     For Maggie’s Sake by Lora Leigh
     Maggie’s ex-lover things she’s hiding information about the deaths of some Navy SEALs. But when a member of a notorious crime family captures and holds her hostage at gunpoint, he realizes he’s wrong, and only he can save her life.

     Siren’s Call by Lori Wilde
     Annie never forgot her first love or the day he pushed her away. But she’s back in town and he plans to win her over. What girl could resist a handsome Scotsman to guide her on a treasure hunt?

     His Body Electric by Carrie Alexander
     Strange events occur at Karen’s farmhouse after an aloof stranger seeks shelter from a violent lightening storm. Alone in the dark with him, Karen uses her skills as a phone-sex operator to seduce the mystery man, uncovering secrets and erotic pleasure.