Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Temperatures Rising by Brenda Jackson
Contemporary romance released by Kimani Romance 1 May 09
I tend to avoid romances where the hero is a professional athlete. Why? Because I have yet to find an author who doesn’t blunder it by doing half-assed research. Particularly annoying since it feeds into the perception that “women don’t know sports” and therefore won’t catch various lack-of-research SNAFUs. After having been burned (and annoyed) one time too many, I pretty much avoid all such books now. But I made the exception for Brenda Jackson’s latest Kimani Romance title. Despite the fact that the hero used to play for the Miami Dolphins (I’m a beleaguered Buffalo Bills fan), I was intrigued by the plot description.
Sherri Griffin is trying to make a fresh start in the sunny Florida Keys. She’s working at her uncle’s radio station and licking her wounds over a disastrous break-up. Her fiance’ accused her of being too career driven, and ran straight into the arms of another woman. That betrayal stings, but Sherri hasn’t given up on men. She does want to get married and have a family….some day. Just not now. No, she wants to focus on her career. Too bad Terrence “Holy Terror” Jeffries has other ideas.
A former defensive tackle for the Dolphins, Terrence now has a sports talk show on WLCK. He also has a love ’em and leave ’em reputation. He loves the ladies, but he’s also a confirmed bachelor. Our boy has no interest in long-term commitment, marriage and babies. So when he first sets eyes on Sherri our boy has it bad. He wants her, in his bed, like yesterday. Too bad our girl keeps giving him the big brush off, despite the fact that she’s more than a little warm for his form.
What follows is Sherri and Terrence tap dancing around each other, ultimately succumbing, and finding themselves spending a lot of time together when a hurricane hits the Keys. The chemistry between these two is palpable, and the sex scenes are particularly spicy. That being said, I couldn’t help but feel that Terrence’s main reason for pursuing Sherri was that she was playing hard to get. It was all about the chase. Also, for someone who seems so determined to remain a bachelor, I found his turn-around on that issue a bit fast and loose. Sure the sex is great – but is it great enough for this leopard to change his spots, seemingly over night?
I really liked Sherri. I appreciated that while she was hot for Terrence, she was also cognizant of their differences. She knows, from the get-go, what she wants. She wants marriage and babies and happily ever after. Terrence does not. And that’s the big reason, more so than her previous relationship, that she plays hard to get. No sense falling in love with a guy when he doesn’t want the same things out of life that you do.
The author keeps the sports talk to a minimum, but unfortunately the one time she does mention Terrence’s career she gets it wrong. The Dolphins could not have beaten the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl because they’re in two totally different conferences. They could play each other in the Super Bowl, but not in a playoff game to determine who gets to go to the Super Bowl. Also, Terrence is a defensive tackle. Sure he could score the occasional touchdown, but it’s not like it would be a routine occurrence for him.
Temperatures Rising ties in to the author’s long-running Westmoreland series, and is also part of a 3-author series from Kimani called Mother Nature Matchmaker. There is some set-up for the next two titles, but it is kept blessedly to a minimum and the author doesn’t needlessly series info-dump in this story. While I wasn’t madly in love with the story, and was, once again, not happy that a romance author couldn’t get her football information right, this was a hot, steamy and quick read. I’m looking forward to the next two books in the series.
Grade: C+
Summary:
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Sherri Griffin knows all about hot, stormy weather. The kind where all a girl wants to do is strip down to her La Perla lingerie. A successful radio producer, Sherri’s had to weather all kinds of storms. But nothing could prepare her for the force of football-star-turned-sports-DJ Terrence Jeffries.
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Never give your heart; never get hurt. That’s the credo gorgeous, arrogant Terrence has always lived by. And he’s looking to add Sherri to his all-star roster of lovely conquests.
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But a hurricane is poised to hit the Keys, leaving Sherri and Terrence stranded…together. While the gathering clouds bring gale winds and pounding seas, Sherri and Terrence are making their own shelter from the storm. And walking right into the eye of a hurricane of passion.
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Read an excerpt here.
Other books in this series:
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