Liviania’s review of Superb and Sexy (Sky High Air, Book 3) by Jill Shalvis
Contemporary romance released by Brava 1 Jun 08
Maddie Stone escaped her past. She cut her ties and made a good life for herself as a concierge for Sky High Air. I haven’t read the rest of the Sky High Air series, but Shalvis introduces everything clearly so that there is no need for familiarity with the two preceding novels. While I liked both Maddie and Brody, Noah and Shayne did not make enough of an impression to cause me to immediately go back and read their stories.
In fact, Maddie not only worked for Sky High, she made herself indispensable to the company. That’s why Brody West tracks her down when she disappears. Well, that and his raging attraction to her. The two shared a kiss after she was shot on the job, and Brody can’t forget it. Now that he’s shown up, he finds not only Maddie but her twin sister Leena. Maddie needs to deal with her past quickly because both she and her sister are in danger. And her sister has her own ideas about how to protect them that don’t mesh well with Maddie’s.
While technically a contemporary romance, Superb and Sexy contains many elements of a romantic suspense novel. It’s just enough to add some action to the story but not enough for the action to overwhelm the central couple. There’s also a secondary couple, featuring Leena and a man named Ben. They’re quite cute together, but all of their backstory occurs offscreen. It’s necessary to keep the book moving, but I would have enjoyed more time with them. I’ve never minded secondary romances, and their comfortable relationship makes a nice contrast to Maddie and Brody’s bickering of love.
Of course, I was doomed to like Maddie and Brody since they do participate in the bickering of love so much. I’m almost always sold on characters who argue, unless it gets too ridiculous. I like this little exchange:
“Are you kidding?” he asked with a low laugh. “When you’re at work, you butt into my life every damn day of the week.”
“Oh, you mean when you’re in your office, all pouting and edgy and barking at the rest of us?”
“Excuse me. Pouting?”
“That’s right. Pouting like a woman over your deep, dark secrets.”
Superb and Sexy manages a nice balance between the darker plot and the sweet romance. There are some truly creepy moments, but Shalvis maintains a light approach on what could be a downer novel. Perhaps my favorite scene is when both couples are finally in one room together. They’re in danger, but it’s very funny. (And without being absurd, for those who are wary of that kind of humor. I enjoy it, but know it isn’t universally liked.)
Of course, the lightness made it easy to read, but it also caused the story to make little impression on me. It was fun reading for an afternoon, but there was nothing to it to make me want to pick up Jill Shalvis’s backlist. I enjoyed the story without being engrossed by it and none of the characters aside from the leads left much of an impression. Superb and Sexy is a well-done romance with some action, but it’s just not much different from many other stories I’ve read.
Grade: B
BUCKLE UP. IT’S GOING TO BE QUITE A RIDE.
Despite his brooding bad-boy attitude, Brody knows life has treated him pretty well. His luxury charter airline, Sky High, has given him financial security and the means to take to the skies whenever things on the ground get complicated. And lately, things have become very complicated, thanks to the insanely passionate, or perhaps just insane, kiss he shared with Sky High’s gorgeous, wisecracking concierge, Maddie. He’s tried to keep his distance, but now Maddie desperately needs help, and it’s triggering protective alpha-male urges Brody didn’t even know he had.
For months, Maddie hid her crush on sexy, exasperating Brody behind a cool, kick-ass exterior and then blew that to smithereens by jumping him in the lobby. Yeah, real smooth. She’s tried to break her ties with Sky High, but Brody won’t let her walk away-especially now that he knows that Maddie and her twin sister Leena are in big-time trouble. To save Leena, Maddie and Brody must pose as husband and wife, and Maddie is amazed that the man she thought was oblivious to her existence knows her very well indeed. But that’s nothing compared to the way she’s about to get to know him-intimately, in depth, and over and over again.
Read an excerpt here.
