LynneC’s review of One Night, Two Heirs by Maureen Child
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Desire 5 Jul 11

Maureen Child has written a charming book about small town American life. But it’s not without its flaws.

Rick Pruitt, marine sergeant, has returned to his home town of Royal, Texas, to decide whether to re-enlist or not. He’s left a family ranch and oil business behind him and while he was away his mother died. But that isn’t the only thing. He gets home to discover that the woman he’d spent his last night with, Sadie Price, has suffered unforeseen circumstances. She’s had twins. Rick recognizes them the minute he sees them, so there’s no argument about paternity.

Sadie’s excuse is that his mother begged her not to tell him and she didn’t want to unnerve him when he was fighting in foreign battle zones. For me, that isn’t enough, especially given Rick’s response. He wants to marry Sadie and give his children a home and two parents. That doesn’t wash with Sadie, who wants more than duty and honor in a husband. She married before, to a man who cheated on her. This time she wants love.

I have a few problems with this setup. First, the secret babies. To me, when a woman gets pregnant and decides to have the babies, as she invariably does in Harlequin romances, then she has to put the babies first. And Sadie doesn’t do that. She knows that they would be better off with a loving father, but she won’t even consider moving in with Rick. Rick is understandably furious, and only Sadie’s brother gets it. What, surprised that nobody told you that you had children? However hard I tried, I couldn’t warm to Sadie. Not only does she refuse to think about marrying Rick, she falls into his bed at the first opportunity. And there’s no mention of protection, unless it was so brief that I missed it, so it could easily happen again. She spends the book angsting about this nebulous concept called “love,” when all the time Rick is giving it to her. She needs to hear the words, and Rick doesn’t want to give them to her.

The reason Rick doesn’t want to say the words is explained later in the book, so I won’t spoil it for you. But when I realized why, it didn’t make any more sense to me than Sadie’s ridiculous refusal to marry him. The conflict seems contrived to me, and it drags on much longer than it needs to, just to get a novel out of the story. Because if Rick has come home, and Sadie has seen reason and marries him, there wouldn’t have been much of a story.

Well, actually, there might have been, and it would have made a much more engrossing tale than the one outlined here. I want to like Sadie and Rick, I really do, but their motives didn’t ring true to me. If they’d married for the childrens’ sake, as I believe they should have done (you might not believe it, and since that’s a big stumbling block for me, you might like the story more) then work out the problem, I might have warmed to them much more.

Sadie is as rich as Rick, there’s no problem with that. They both belong to the Texas Cattlemen’s Club, so this book is part of that series. It’s not one I follow regularly, but I don’t feel I’m missing out by not reading them. Where this book excels to me is its descriptions of small town Texas life. For me, this is a treat, something so alien to my experience that I can enjoy what, to me, are the exotic locations and unfamiliar routines and habits. The vague concepts of “fighting for your country” and “love” seemed similar, things that people accept without thinking too hard about them. But this is the way these people thought, so I accept it as part of the setting. Descriptions of the club, the holidays, where Sadie stands at a stall and sells fireworks (something that wouldn’t be allowed in my country without lots of licenses, identifications, and maybe a steel barrier or two) fascinate me.

Although Rick shows Sadie nothing but love throughout the book, both of them refuse to recognize it. Sadie wants the words, which, of course, Rick refuses to give her until the end. The idealistic settings, the wealth of both participants, do verge on the sugary-sweet at times, but I recommend this one for the detailed and evocative descriptions of Texas life.

Grade: C

Summary:

Duty is his world. And upon seeing Sadie Price with twin girls, marine Rick Pruitt realizes he has some proposing to do. He never would have left Royal, Texas, if he’d known Sadie was carrying his babies.

Yet the feisty single mom has no intention of agreeing to a loveless marriage. True, she and Rick share a bond, as well as undeniable passion. But Sadie believes vows should last a lifetime, not be declared out of obligation. Making it Rick’s new mission to change her mind…

Read an excerpt.

Dinca’s review of Claiming King’s Baby (Kings of California, Book 4) by Maureen Child
Contemporary Romance published by Silhouette Desire 13 Oct 09

Okay. So I read another of the Kings of California series. Of all the pigheaded oafs in the world, this hero has to be the king.  There are so many adjectives I could use to describe him. Most of them I would not put in print for fear my mother would turn over in her grave.  Arrogant, self-serving blankity blank will have to suffice. I am beginning to think Maureen Child needs new role models for her heroes.

Maggie leaves her husband because he did not want children and children are important to her.  Justice King, her husband, refuses to sign the divorce papers, so she shows up on his door step with a fresh copy. They have one last weekend fling and he promises to sign the papers. By the time she gets the papers in the mail, she discovers she is pregnant and does not file them with the courts. She has what she wants. Well, at least part of what she wants.

Maggie grabs at the chance to get her husband back in the picture when a freak accident offers her an opportunity to spend some time with him as a physical therapist, which is her profession. So when the job is offered to her by her brother-in-law, she takes it and shows up unannounced with baby in tow.

As far as Justice is concerned, that part of his life is over. He signed the papers and he is done with wanting what he can’t have and facing the failure of his marriage.  Above all, he does not need any help, even if his leg is healing from four different breaks and is as weak as a new-born calf. He does not want Maggie near him, much less touching him.

When he discovers strange new sounds coming from down the hall, he is more obstinate than ever when coming face to face with the child he denies is his. Maggie has to be lying. He calls her a cheat. And she’s still around? When he can deny it no longer, he puts that poor little baby through all kinds of poking for a paternity test, instead of manning up to be tested himself to see if he can have children.  Especially since the other test takes a lot longer than a sperm count.

This marriage has nothing going for it but chemistry. He doesn’t care about her wants or needs out of the bedroom at all. It is all about him. No wonder she left.  The book starts with Justice having dark brown hair and continues with the baby looking just like him with his black hair. Other things I wonder about is if they used birth control before she left, since he would not give her a child. If he would have manned up to having a problem in the first place, that would have solved all his problems to begin with. So I repeat, pigheaded oaf. Yep, that about sums it up.

This will be the last Kings of California I read by Maureen Child. I have enjoyed her work in the past and I will venture on to another one of her projects. I do not enjoy writing unfavorable reviews, so I will pass on the rest of this series.

Grade: D

Summary:

It was supposed to be a last meeting to sign divorce papers. Then passion overtook them and Maggie King walked away with more than just a legal decree–she was pregnant with the child Justice King had always refused to give her. A fact she would never dare reveal to him.But when circumstances forced her back to the King ranch, she could hide her secret no longer. Justice had a son, one he desperately wanted to deny was his own. Because admitting the boy to be his blood kin would mean he’d made the biggest mistake of his life.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Dinca’s review of Marrying for King’s Millions by Maureen Child
Contemporary Romance published by Silhouette Desire 4 Apr 08

Maureen Child has another grabber. It takes hold and doesn’t let go starting with page one! Several times I wanted to let go, but I had to follow the old saying “Stupid is as stupid does” and find out what stupid thing happened next.

Lessons learned… Never trust your heart. Julie’s first husband has dumped her and now her childhood crush wants a contract for an in-name-only marriage. Hah! The only good thing that could come out of that scheme would be her dream of owning a bakery, but Travis King is not demanding anything of her except her time and a wedding band on her finger for a year.

Travis plans ahead. Every move he makes is well thought out and a thorough plan in place so the outcome will be just as he wants it. The distributor he has picked for his wine business has one drawback… unmarried daughters. So Travis plans to be married by his rules before he makes the deal. All it will take is a simple business contract with his childhood friend Julie O’Hara that includes a start and end date. Everyone wins — he gets the distributor he wants and she gets her dream when the deal is done.

I had a hard time wrapping my head around the portrayed frivolous lifestyle too. Characters are trying to do the right thing, although I did find it rather naive of Julie to go meet with her traitorous ex-husband who had already blackmailed her and Travis.

I also find it totally unbelievable for a modern day woman, who professes she can take care of herself (as Julie proclaims), to think she is divorced without ever seeing or signing the divorce papers. You would think the ex-husband’s blackmail scheme is a done deal once their divorce/bigamy and remarriage leaks to the press. Why is he even still in the picture? And why does Travis think Julie is involved in the scheme? She stands to lose more than anyone. Supposedly for such a smart guy, Travis is way off the mark.

This book is not as strong as Book 1 of the Kings of California. Travis is too domineering, which tends to bring out the stupid gene in Julie. I don’t feel this is one of Ms. Child’s best efforts. I generally enjoy her work and I was not looking forward to writing this review. The only reason I didn’t give it a D was the grabber effect. One thing does happen after another that I didn’t see coming, even if it was laced with dumb, dumb and dumber.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Wed and bed one of his biggest client’s unsavory daughters? No thanks. But the only way millionaire Travis King could get the man off his back was to marry someone else. So he handpicked his temporary and on-his-terms bride— hometown girl Julie O’Hara. The woman was desperate and should easily fade into the background. And, as per their contract, she’d do exactly what he wanted during their year of platonic marriage. Unless what he wanted began to change.…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Limecello’s review of Man Beneath the Uniform by Maureen Child
Contemporary romance published by Silhouette Desire on 1 Feb 04

My reading this book was somewhat serendipitous, but I’m especially happy I read it because it is loosely connected with Maureen Child’s new Man of the Month book, An Officer and a Millionaire. That being said, Man Beneath the Uniform is part of the Dynasties: The Danforths books. I’d been meaning to read the series because the very last book, Shocking the Senator, may just be one of my favorite books ever. Kimberly and Zack’s story definitely stood up to Nicola and Abe’s, and I’m very happy I read Man Beneath the Uniform. I’ve also always been fond of military heroes.

Kimberly Danforth is well known because of her name, but not really because of her person. Due to the fact that everyone in society knows who she is, Kim has retreated into academia. She likes her quiet life, and is happy. However, she’s forced to deal with Zach when her father, Abe, receives threatening letters. I liked Kim’s personality, and felt that Ms. Child did a great job of getting in her head and laying out Kim’s thoughts and emotions in regard to how it felt to be put into close quarters with Zach. Not only that, but Kim had a satisfying depth of character that made her a good match for Zach.

Zach Sheridan is really interesting. I liked that he went through a transformation of sorts in Man Beneath the Uniform. He is assigned to Kim as her bodyguard as a punishment for disobeying orders. He goes in expecting to babysit a spoiled brat, and finds someone almost the opposite of what he thought. He’s also extremely attracted to Kim, and I like that she shuts him down. It’s always nice for the hero to suffer a little. What I also enjoyed was that Zach had friends, and Ms. Child wrote in a few scenes where Zach’s friends come to visit him. It really helped develop not only Zach, but Kim’s character as well.

For once, I liked that the hero and heroine were opposites. Kim is scholarly, controlled, and lives a measured life. Zach, on the other hand, seems loose, open, and seems to have little impulse control. She drinks tea, and he’ll die without coffee. Yet  the two are able to, and easily overcome their differences. For all that they live their lives differently, they’re quite compatible. I liked that they were able to find common ground, and both very strong in and of themselves.

There was a cute scene where Zach tells off Kim’s ex-boyfriend. The two of them also took a number of moonlight walks that Kim liked going on, and they bonded over their love of water. And danger. The end was also sweet, and I really liked that Ms. Child allowed the characters to communicate. Yes, Zach made assumptions about his lifestyle and whether or not a relationship with Kim would work, but he actually said something about it. (Amazing in a romance novel, I know.) Even better, Kim had a ready answer for his concerns, and threw out a few of her own. They were able to get over them, and grab their happily ever after.

I enjoyed this story, and think I might have to hunt down the rest in the Danforths series. And of course I wouldn’t mind re-reading this one, or of course Shocking the Senator again. (And again.)

Grade: B+

Summary:
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A Seductive Assignment
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It was an unusual assignment for seasoned warrior Zack Sheridan. He was more accustomed to fighting in jungles than baby-sitting sharp-tongued, wealthy young women like Kimberly Danforth. But what began as a cakewalk for the U.S. Navy SEAL quickly turned into something else. Thirty days and thirty nights of shadowing Kimberly’s every move, breathing her scent, memorizing every curve of her body… Zach was soon having trouble reconciling his duty with desire. Heaven help him if Kim came to him at night seeking comfort – and heaven help her if she did!
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No excerpt found.

Limecello’s review of An Officer and a Millionaire by Maureen Child
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire on 13 Jan 09

Maureen Child is a Desire author whose books I always keep an eye out for. I know I can expect a good, solid read, and I’ve also got a soft spot for Silhouette Desire’s “Man of the Month” series.  I think that Hunter Cabot filled that role admirably, as he was the first man of the month during Harlequin’s 60th Anniversary. It’s also cute because Hunter has appeared in previous books by Ms. Child. And really, for Man of the Month, a hero who actually is an officer and a millionaire? In Harlequin world, this isn’t overkill, it’s a perfect hero. (And hey – I definitely wouldn’t turn down one in real life were he to show up on my doorstep.)

First, however, we’ll talk about Margie Cabot, because everyone knows the woman is (and women!) and are most important to Harlequin. One would think I’d find Margie contradictory, but I rather liked her. She’s snappy when backed into a corner, has a great big bleeding heart, but does her best to put up a good front. Margie’s reactions and face she shows the world runs the gamut. Margie is the town savior (okay, this I had a bit of a hard time believing), is a friend to Hunter’s grandfather, and is able to hold her own against Hunter.

While everyone loves her, Margie still feels alone and adrift. I don’t know that I’d really label Margie’s effort to resist Hunter as valiant, but it’s cute how she initially interacts with him. I have to admit that her “I’ll never find a place to belong, and the orphan in me will never be loved” moping didn’t elicit much sympathy from me, but it did explain why she was racing to put down roots. It’s not that I didn’t feel bad for her, merely that Margie took it a bit too far.

Hunter Cabot is basically your typical clueless hero. We know he’s a stand up guy because he’s a Navy SEAL. However, I didn’t feel that I knew much else about him as a person. He’s incredibly loyal to his team – they’re his best friends, and he loves his grandfather, but he is a bit careless with his relationships. Maybe it’s because he’s a soldier, or like so many people it’s “out of sight, out of mind” for Hunter, but most of Ms. Child’s focus on Hunter was how he felt about Margie, or didn’t want to feel about her. I have to admit, however, I did enjoy his bumbling at the end, with the “why not just stay married?” It was entertaining. That, and his killer ex-girlfriend. It’s always fun to have a hero be embarrassed because he dated a woman – regardless of how hot and seemingly perfect she is.

To be honest, I picked up this book, and put it down again after reading the first few pages. A man who didn’t know he was married? A woman posing as his wife? Really? I’m supposed to believe that? Well, actually, yes, there is a pretty good explanation a few more pages in. (Well, at least one I was willing to accept.) I definitely didn’t know proxy marriages still took place today – and don’t know if they do, but was charmed by the idea. How quaint – and how interesting, right? I liked that Margie wasn’t painted as the villain in this book. (Well, only by Hunter – but it added an interesting dimension for Margie not to be the mercenary gold digger.) I really appreciated the fact that Ms. Child didn’t try to spin some outrageous tale where the heroine is trying to con the hero…

I suppose proximity had a lot to do with bringing Hunter and Margie together, but I liked the little events that pushed them together. For example, how Hunter felt when he overheard women getting catty about Margie. I will say that I’m not entirely convinced of the “Cabot is King” concept – but maybe I just don’t know enough about small towns. An Officer and a Millionaire is a cute story, and I really enjoyed all the secondary characters. They really helped move the plot along, and showed different facets of the character’s personalities.

While I found the end a little bit cheesy, I did like the way Hunter went after Margie. Once he finally decided what he wanted, and realized he was in love, Hunter was a man on a mission, and it was nice to see him get a little riled. I also really enjoyed the banter between the men. I’m enjoying the newest books in the Man of the Month “series,” and definitely hope to see the remainder of Ms. Child’s SEAL team have their own romances. If you enjoy categories, you should read this book, especially if you haven’t already given the Man of the Month books a try.

Grade: B-

Summary:
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Mr. January: Hunter Cabot, Navy SEAL
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Vital Statistics: Tall, rich and…married?
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Mission: Find out who’s been sleeping in his bed.
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The broad-shouldered military man had no patience with games. Margie—Cabot?—had to go. She’d been masquerading as his spouse for nearly a year, living in his house while he’d been overseas. Now all his skills were focused on payback: it would be sweet, swift and sexy.
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But first he’d have that “wedding night!”
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Read an excerpt.

Devon’s review of A Fiend In Need by Maureen Child
Contemporary paranormal romance released by NAL Trade 4 Mar 08

This book contains: a snarky, flippant narrator; multiple Buffy/Angel references; the overuse of the word “hoo-hah” as a euphemism for girl parts; several possible love interests; and, no HEA in sight.

If these things make you want to groan and gnash your teeth, consider yourself warned.

I enjoyed this book more than I originally thought I would, due to some of the elements above. Somewhere along the way, I found myself involved in the adventures of Cassidy Burke: single mom, house cleaner, and Demon Duster. Apparently all the women in her family become Demon Dusters on their thirty second birthday, and yes, there can only be one.

The discovery that her Southern California hometown is beset by demons, and that it is her duty to rid the world of them, has overloaded Cassidy’s already full plate. She has a sixteen year old daughter, a business, a grumpy demon mentor, a sexy demon lover, and her first love/baby daddy is back in town. While the tone and humor sometimes grated, I did enjoy Cassidy’s relationships with her daughter, best friend and mentor/trainer. She was an every-woman type figure, able to kick ass while worrying about her daughter’s upcoming cheerleading tryout. I found her to be well-fleshed out and refreshing.

The romantic/sexual elements were the weakest part of the book. I double checked and, according to the back cover and Amazon, this is classified as a paranormal romance. Definitely misleading. Cassidy juggles a tenuous relationship with night-club owning demon named Devlin, lingering feelings for local cop/former lover named Logan, and the magical attentions of male faery named Brady. Although I didn’t feel like I missed that much by skipping the first book, More Than Fiends, when it came to the romance, I wished I had read it. Because I wasn’t feeling any of these men or relationships. They all seemed kind of pushy and shady, and there was no chemistry.

This was all complicated by the fact that the book was in first person, which distances the reader from the hero because we’re never in his head. I also find sex scenes written in the first person to be weak, because we are told everything rather than shown. I didn’t need to hear quite so much about what was going on with Cassidy’s hoo-hah at any given moment.

Despite being riddled with a number of paranormal clichés, A Fiend in Need was a pleasant read. It kept my interest, and I’d be interested in reading the next, mostly to find out if any of the romances get interesting. If you like your paranormals light, or with a chick-lit flavor, you might enjoy this one. It is also noteworthy for a realistic heroine with as many human responsibilities as paranormal ones.

Grade: C+

From the back cover:

It’s only been a month since single mom Cassie Burke unexpectedly became the hottest demon killer in town-and already there’s a price on her head and a website calling for her murder.

Then a sizzling hunk of a faery shows up on her porch in need of protection. Cassie’s happy to help because, after all, he is an expert love slave. Plus, he gets along great with her teenage daughter-a heroic feat in itself.

After a few not-quite-chaste nights, Cassie knows why Queen Vanessa wants him back so badly-and why she’s planning an all-out attack on her. Suddenly Cassie’s wondering if she can fend off an entire city of demons-and if a little faery tail is even worth it…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Read more from Devon at Is That a Stake In Your Pocket?