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Secret Lives Of Daytime Divas #3
Hot for Him
Working in Hollywood is always about getting to the top.Or on top, as feisty producer Claudia Dostis prefers. Butwhen she contends with her outrageously sexy adversary,Leandro Mandalor, the stakes change.
Her charming opponent is definitely up to Claudia'schallenge. He convinces her they must come together—inthe office and in the bedroom. Suddenly getting on tophas a whole new meaning…and leads to a new level ofsensual satisfaction. But can Claudia let go of her needto succeed long enough to allow someone else to win?
Her charming opponent is definitely up to Claudia'schallenge. He convinces her they must come together—inthe office and in the bedroom. Suddenly getting on tophas a whole new meaning…and leads to a new level ofsensual satisfaction. But can Claudia let go of her needto succeed long enough to allow someone else to win?
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
11 people are currently reading
272 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Mayberry
159 books1,149 followersSarah Mayberry was born in Melbourne, Australia, and is the middle of three children. From the time that she first “stole” paper from kindergarten and stapled it together to make “books,” Sarah has always wanted to be a writer. In line with this ambition, on graduation from high school she completed a bachelor of arts degree majoring in professional writing, then sat down to write a book. When inspiration didn’t strike, she began to wonder if, perhaps, she needed to live some life first before writing about it.
This still left the burning question of how to pay the rent. She found her way into trade journalism, working off the principle that it was better to write anything for a living than nothing at all. Her time there lead to the opportunity to launch a new decorator magazine for one of Australia’s major retailers, an invaluable and grueling experience that she found very rewarding.
But the opportunity to write fiction for a living soon lured Sarah away. She took up a post as storyliner on Australia’s longest running soap, Neighbours. Over two years she helped plot more than 240 hours of television, as well as writing freelance scripts. She remembers her time with the show very fondly — especially the dirty jokes and laughter around the story table — and still writes scripts on a freelance basis.
In 2003 she relocated to New Zealand for her partner’s work. There Sarah served as storyliner and story editor on the country’s top-rating drama, Shortland Street, before quitting to pursue writing full time.
Sarah picked up a love of romance novels from both her grandmothers, and has submitted manuscripts to Harlequin many times over the years. She credits the invaluable story structuring experience she learned on Neighbours as the key to her eventual success — along with the patience of her fantastic editor, Wanda.
Sarah is revoltingly happy with her partner of twelve years, Chris, who is a talented scriptwriter. Not only does he offer fantastic advice and solutions to writing problems, but he’s also handsome, funny and sexy. When she’s not gushing over him, she loves to read romance and fantasy novels, go to the movies, sew and cook for her friends. She has also become a recent convert to Pilates, which she knows she should do more often.
This still left the burning question of how to pay the rent. She found her way into trade journalism, working off the principle that it was better to write anything for a living than nothing at all. Her time there lead to the opportunity to launch a new decorator magazine for one of Australia’s major retailers, an invaluable and grueling experience that she found very rewarding.
But the opportunity to write fiction for a living soon lured Sarah away. She took up a post as storyliner on Australia’s longest running soap, Neighbours. Over two years she helped plot more than 240 hours of television, as well as writing freelance scripts. She remembers her time with the show very fondly — especially the dirty jokes and laughter around the story table — and still writes scripts on a freelance basis.
In 2003 she relocated to New Zealand for her partner’s work. There Sarah served as storyliner and story editor on the country’s top-rating drama, Shortland Street, before quitting to pursue writing full time.
Sarah picked up a love of romance novels from both her grandmothers, and has submitted manuscripts to Harlequin many times over the years. She credits the invaluable story structuring experience she learned on Neighbours as the key to her eventual success — along with the patience of her fantastic editor, Wanda.
Sarah is revoltingly happy with her partner of twelve years, Chris, who is a talented scriptwriter. Not only does he offer fantastic advice and solutions to writing problems, but he’s also handsome, funny and sexy. When she’s not gushing over him, she loves to read romance and fantasy novels, go to the movies, sew and cook for her friends. She has also become a recent convert to Pilates, which she knows she should do more often.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 28, 2019
This is the third book in the soap opera series. H/h were so suitable that the author had to throw in some convoluted drama to keep the page count up. This is a fairly conflict-free story of rival producers of soaps on opposite networks. The story opens when the heroine wins an award, beating out the hero. He kisses her to congratulate her and that begins their courtship.
Hero is just getting divorced from a career woman. He doesn’t want to waste time with a fling since he wants to find a nice Greek girl to marry and have children with. Heroine is a determined career woman with “bed buddies” but her two friends are paired off and she is having second thoughts. They are both Greek with close-knit families.
There is a side drama with one of his stars and one of her stars making a sex tape that was stolen. The thieves devise a blackmail scheme to prevent it going on the Internet. Heroine wears a wire to help catch them, while the hero is all protective alpha. There is another plot thread devoted to the heroine’s mother’s alcoholism and why the heroine is reluctant to have children.
The heroine breaks it off after charming the hero’s whole family (they watch his soap and tape hers. LOL). But once Mom is in rehab, and heroine has a pregnancy scare, heroine has second thoughts. She realizes she loves the hero and wants him back. Hero immediately takes her back.
This is a low angst, courtship story with more soap background and the two loved up sequel-bait couples making lots of appearances. Oh, and there is a lots of sex – condom-wrapper-tearing, up-against-a-wall sex. So in Blaze world, it must be true love.
This is really only a two star read, but I’m giving it three because it serves the function of tying up a really interesting series. I like how the author doesn’t show all the loose ends, but tells instead. For instance, I didn’t need to see the wedding of the H/h from book one. We’re told they’re married in book three. And that was enough. Same with the directorial debut of the hero from book two – in book three we find out it won the ratings war on that night. That’s enough for me.
Since I read the series all at once, I got very tired of the endless sex scenes and the characters panting over each other’s appearances. I think if I had broken up my reading it wouldn’t have felt so repetitious. And I don’t care about sex scenes for the most part. I can take or leave them. So Blaze is not my go-to line.
Still, give this series a try if you want something a little different. Book one is the best, as is often the case in a series.
Hero is just getting divorced from a career woman. He doesn’t want to waste time with a fling since he wants to find a nice Greek girl to marry and have children with. Heroine is a determined career woman with “bed buddies” but her two friends are paired off and she is having second thoughts. They are both Greek with close-knit families.
There is a side drama with one of his stars and one of her stars making a sex tape that was stolen. The thieves devise a blackmail scheme to prevent it going on the Internet. Heroine wears a wire to help catch them, while the hero is all protective alpha. There is another plot thread devoted to the heroine’s mother’s alcoholism and why the heroine is reluctant to have children.
The heroine breaks it off after charming the hero’s whole family (they watch his soap and tape hers. LOL). But once Mom is in rehab, and heroine has a pregnancy scare, heroine has second thoughts. She realizes she loves the hero and wants him back. Hero immediately takes her back.
This is a low angst, courtship story with more soap background and the two loved up sequel-bait couples making lots of appearances. Oh, and there is a lots of sex – condom-wrapper-tearing, up-against-a-wall sex. So in Blaze world, it must be true love.
This is really only a two star read, but I’m giving it three because it serves the function of tying up a really interesting series. I like how the author doesn’t show all the loose ends, but tells instead. For instance, I didn’t need to see the wedding of the H/h from book one. We’re told they’re married in book three. And that was enough. Same with the directorial debut of the hero from book two – in book three we find out it won the ratings war on that night. That’s enough for me.
Since I read the series all at once, I got very tired of the endless sex scenes and the characters panting over each other’s appearances. I think if I had broken up my reading it wouldn’t have felt so repetitious. And I don’t care about sex scenes for the most part. I can take or leave them. So Blaze is not my go-to line.
Still, give this series a try if you want something a little different. Book one is the best, as is often the case in a series.
March 24, 2013
The third in the series about three friends who work on a soap opera is another excellent mix of steam, humor, and emotion. Claudia simply loathes Leandro, the producer of a rival soap opera -- he's so obnoxiously tall and gorgeous, and it's simply embarrassing "having the hots for a man so beneath her contempt." Then a work situation throws them together and neither can resist the sparks that fly. As time goes on, Leandro becomes increasingly convinced that their "fling" is actually the start of the real relationship he wants, one that will lead to marriage and children. But Claudia is holding on to an ugly secret, one that has convinced her that having a family is not for her.
From the beginning of this book, where we see that sex-positive Claudia hasn't been whitewashed at all from her previous appearances, I was continually surprised and delighted with where the plot went. Leandro is adorable, of course, and I liked that he appreciates Claudia's toughness, after thinking of her as tiny and fragile. Claudia comes off as a bit of a jerk at first, but becomes very sympathetic as we really get to know her and discover the hard decisions she's had to make. I was particularly happy with how the conflict is resolved.
From the beginning of this book, where we see that sex-positive Claudia hasn't been whitewashed at all from her previous appearances, I was continually surprised and delighted with where the plot went. Leandro is adorable, of course, and I liked that he appreciates Claudia's toughness, after thinking of her as tiny and fragile. Claudia comes off as a bit of a jerk at first, but becomes very sympathetic as we really get to know her and discover the hard decisions she's had to make. I was particularly happy with how the conflict is resolved.
March 28, 2012
2 ½ stars. Not engaging due to heroine’s attitude and temperament.
This book was not as fun as I hoped. Claudia grew up with an alcoholic mother who embarrassed her. She never brought friends home. Her father refused to admit the problem or get the right kind of help. Apparently that’s the reason Claudia is now a difficult person. She is extremely competitive, works seven days a week, is very good at her job, and never wants to marry or have kids. She is head producer of a TV show. Leandro is head producer of a rival TV show. Their paths cross. They end up having hot, heavy, addictive, passionate sex. She wants a one-night-stand. He can’t forget about her and starts sending her gifts. They end up seeing each other a lot. He is patient, kind, generous, and caring. She fights him at several points along the way, and that’s where my problem is. She comes off mouthy, sarcastic, selfish, bitchy, mean, and you-don’t-own-me-attitude. At one point she wants to break up because she thinks there is a risk he might see scripts from her TV show and use it for his own show. Later she wants to break up because she realizes he cares for her. Later she does break up with him because she insists she never wants kids and he eventually will. He says let’s not worry about the future. Let’s enjoy what we have and see where it takes us. But no she won’t. I did not enjoy this. She was unsympathetic. I’m not saying all main characters must be likeable. Sometimes a “bad girl” can be entertaining. S.E. Phillips did it well in “Ain’t She Sweet.” I’m just saying that a heroine with problems can be done in a more engaging way. Here’s a minor example of conversation that did not appeal to me. She and Leandro are on the way to meet with a criminal. Leandro asks her if she is nervous. She says no. But she is. It wasn’t a big deal, but something about it bothered me. Why lie about something so minor?
Regarding spoilers. I really don’t think I’m doing spoilers above. From the beginning she tells him she does not want marriage and kids. And since most romance novels have a break up, my mentioning the break up should not be a surprise. My intent is to let you know the main story is all about her personal issues.
The sex scenes are good. There are several.
NARRATOR:
The narrator Elizabeth Livingston seemed ok, but I wonder if she hurt the interpretation of Claudia. Claudia’s character sounded whiny, bitchy, and arrogant. I wonder if a different narrator could have made Claudia more likeable or sympathetic.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 7 hrs and 26 mins. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: about 8. Setting: current day Los Angeles, California. Book copyright: 2007. Genre: contemporary romance.
This book was not as fun as I hoped. Claudia grew up with an alcoholic mother who embarrassed her. She never brought friends home. Her father refused to admit the problem or get the right kind of help. Apparently that’s the reason Claudia is now a difficult person. She is extremely competitive, works seven days a week, is very good at her job, and never wants to marry or have kids. She is head producer of a TV show. Leandro is head producer of a rival TV show. Their paths cross. They end up having hot, heavy, addictive, passionate sex. She wants a one-night-stand. He can’t forget about her and starts sending her gifts. They end up seeing each other a lot. He is patient, kind, generous, and caring. She fights him at several points along the way, and that’s where my problem is. She comes off mouthy, sarcastic, selfish, bitchy, mean, and you-don’t-own-me-attitude. At one point she wants to break up because she thinks there is a risk he might see scripts from her TV show and use it for his own show. Later she wants to break up because she realizes he cares for her. Later she does break up with him because she insists she never wants kids and he eventually will. He says let’s not worry about the future. Let’s enjoy what we have and see where it takes us. But no she won’t. I did not enjoy this. She was unsympathetic. I’m not saying all main characters must be likeable. Sometimes a “bad girl” can be entertaining. S.E. Phillips did it well in “Ain’t She Sweet.” I’m just saying that a heroine with problems can be done in a more engaging way. Here’s a minor example of conversation that did not appeal to me. She and Leandro are on the way to meet with a criminal. Leandro asks her if she is nervous. She says no. But she is. It wasn’t a big deal, but something about it bothered me. Why lie about something so minor?
Regarding spoilers. I really don’t think I’m doing spoilers above. From the beginning she tells him she does not want marriage and kids. And since most romance novels have a break up, my mentioning the break up should not be a surprise. My intent is to let you know the main story is all about her personal issues.
The sex scenes are good. There are several.
NARRATOR:
The narrator Elizabeth Livingston seemed ok, but I wonder if she hurt the interpretation of Claudia. Claudia’s character sounded whiny, bitchy, and arrogant. I wonder if a different narrator could have made Claudia more likeable or sympathetic.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 7 hrs and 26 mins. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: about 8. Setting: current day Los Angeles, California. Book copyright: 2007. Genre: contemporary romance.
January 7, 2020
Ohhhhh, okay, so this one ended up kind of interesting to read from a writer development perspective. The first half was way too fast, too much sex (yes, I know it's a Harlequin Blaze, haha), but then it dug more into the meaty issues that Sarah Mayberry is so good at.
Could've done without
Owned ebook 1/2 for the month.
Overall owned book 1/5 for the month.
Edit: I forgot to mention this, but the incident that brings these to together is a sex tape between a thirty-something actor on his show and a SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD on her show and how to stop it from leaking. Now, this was published in 2007 and we're in a whole new era, but SEVENTEEN.
Could've done without
Owned ebook 1/2 for the month.
Overall owned book 1/5 for the month.
Edit: I forgot to mention this, but the incident that brings these to together is a sex tape between a thirty-something actor on his show and a SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD on her show and how to stop it from leaking. Now, this was published in 2007 and we're in a whole new era, but SEVENTEEN.
August 14, 2014
Male hero with hung ups teaches wary heroine how to love and be loved despite her messed up family history with an alcoholic mother. I enjoyed the moments Claudia spent with her two best friends, but 90% of their conversations are either about the guy Claudia is sleeping with or her alcoholic mother or both. It got very tiring after a while.
June 15, 2017
"I never wanted kids and never will" and then she's dying to have them ...
January 26, 2021
Slightly depressing romance
2 stars
This is the third in Mayberry's Secret Lives of Daytime Divas trilogy (after Take on Me and All Over You) but stands completely alone if you haven't read the first two books in the series.
Both Claudia and Leandro are nice enough characters but neither inspired much feeling in me - good or bad. While I completely understood the conflict in the story and even sympathised with the characters, on the whole, the subject of alcoholism was really quite depressing as I'm sure it was written with a great deal of authenticity. This probably wouldn't normally be a problem but when you're hoping for a light, sexy read then it's not really what you're looking for.
Plus, I'll admit that I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more of Grace and Sadie's romances from the first two books in the trilogy. I always think it's nice to wrap up a series with a little reunion and 'where are they now'. An extended epilogue wrapped up in another's story, if you will.
Overall, the book is very readable and I like Sarah Mayberry's writing style. But this story was too focussed on the conflict and not enough on the romance for me to enjoy overly much. Only 2 stars.
March 9, 2021
This was my first Harlequin Blaze and to my own surprise, I liked it.
At the beginning of the book I doubted I would like it, because she is thinking of her two f*ck buddies and texting one of them for a sex session. That’s a bit too modern for me.
I like the fact that she is a dark-haired Greek too, just like him. If you read many Harlequin HP’s, it’s as if Greek men only fall in love with and marry blonde women.
At the beginning of the book I doubted I would like it, because she is thinking of her two f*ck buddies and texting one of them for a sex session. That’s a bit too modern for me.
I like the fact that she is a dark-haired Greek too, just like him. If you read many Harlequin HP’s, it’s as if Greek men only fall in love with and marry blonde women.
March 22, 2018
DNF at 63%
The vanilla sex scenes were boring me and there’s too much sex and too little story.
Now, coming upon the apparently necessary conflict, sabotage part, I just don’t feel like going through it. The premise is too cliched and flimsy anyway.
Additionally, the narrator - Elizabeth Livingston - has a very nasal, whiny voice that can be hard to bear.
The vanilla sex scenes were boring me and there’s too much sex and too little story.
Now, coming upon the apparently necessary conflict, sabotage part, I just don’t feel like going through it. The premise is too cliched and flimsy anyway.
Additionally, the narrator - Elizabeth Livingston - has a very nasal, whiny voice that can be hard to bear.
February 1, 2020
This was my least favorite story of the three, the story of Sadie and Dylan being the top for me. It was predictable and lacked angst.
March 26, 2022
Beautiful chemistry between Claudia and Leandro. Loved it ☺️
April 15, 2018
A good solid story, with lots of passion, good characters and dialogue. not her best work, but still a good read
August 15, 2011
Audiobook version narrated by Elisabeth Livingston
Book 3.5*
Narration 3*
This was a very enjoyable audiobook and if I was rating it only against other category romances it would be a 4-5 star. Claudia Dostis is a producer for a daytime TV show and her competition in ratings and industry awards is Leandro Mandalor, producer for a rival show. When an extortionist throws the two of them together, the attraction between them explodes but growing up with an alcoholic mother has taught Claudia that marriage and children lead to unhappiness.
This could have been typical example of the genre except Sarah Mayberry excels at creating very human characters who rarely end up following the expected plot progression. Claudia and Mandalor certainly generate the expected sexual heat for a book in the Blaze line but as Claudia deals with her family and struggles with her mother's addiction, the reader gets one heck of an emotional wallop. The strong female friendships in the story are a nice addition to the overall plot and there is witty dialogue scattered throughout the book. In a nice change-up, it is the male lead who wants to settle down and the female lead who has to be convinced (or really, convince herself.) This book has strong, engaging, and adult characters who are navigating life and love with thoughtfulness and humor.
The narration was pretty good although I struggled with two aspects of it: the emotion in Leandro's voice often didn't sound genuine to me and I felt there was a certain level of detachment in the narrator's voice during the sex scenes which made me uncomfortable with them. All the character voices were unique and Ms. Livingston gave Leandro a rather delicious voice and overall I did enjoy the narration.
Book 3.5*
Narration 3*
This was a very enjoyable audiobook and if I was rating it only against other category romances it would be a 4-5 star. Claudia Dostis is a producer for a daytime TV show and her competition in ratings and industry awards is Leandro Mandalor, producer for a rival show. When an extortionist throws the two of them together, the attraction between them explodes but growing up with an alcoholic mother has taught Claudia that marriage and children lead to unhappiness.
This could have been typical example of the genre except Sarah Mayberry excels at creating very human characters who rarely end up following the expected plot progression. Claudia and Mandalor certainly generate the expected sexual heat for a book in the Blaze line but as Claudia deals with her family and struggles with her mother's addiction, the reader gets one heck of an emotional wallop. The strong female friendships in the story are a nice addition to the overall plot and there is witty dialogue scattered throughout the book. In a nice change-up, it is the male lead who wants to settle down and the female lead who has to be convinced (or really, convince herself.) This book has strong, engaging, and adult characters who are navigating life and love with thoughtfulness and humor.
The narration was pretty good although I struggled with two aspects of it: the emotion in Leandro's voice often didn't sound genuine to me and I felt there was a certain level of detachment in the narrator's voice during the sex scenes which made me uncomfortable with them. All the character voices were unique and Ms. Livingston gave Leandro a rather delicious voice and overall I did enjoy the narration.
September 21, 2024
I re-read this as part of my goal to review all my old reads. I enjoyed the first book, but this was just a meh kind of book. I liked the rivals to lovers aspect between Claudia and Leandro. But there were just so many plot points that it was too much. The sex tape cover up, not trusting each other as rivals, an alcoholic mother, and not wanting kids. I had issues with the way the kids plot was written. It was the hot and cold way it was done, that she wanted kids but didn't want to become her mother. It was done in a way that I wasn't a fan of and how it got "fixed" at the end with her being okay with having children.
August 15, 2013
3.5 stars - I liked these just as much as the other two in the series but I didn't like how quickly it was resolved! God GIVE SARAH MAYBERRY SOME WRITING SPACE, UNIVERSE - there are dramatic beats here that are well-done and they're fleshed out in a way that it makes it so easy to feel for them, but at the same time it feels so - truncated? I can't help imagining how much better it'll be if I'd gotten to sit around in those feelings for a while - the intensity of the romance and how certain they get about each other would be easier to sell that way.
I really like her dialogue and her characters so very much, though. I get why they fit - I just want to see them figure it out more.
I really like her dialogue and her characters so very much, though. I get why they fit - I just want to see them figure it out more.
July 26, 2016
The third and final book in the Ocean Boulevard series, Claudia and Leandro are a good match and Claudia’s obstacles completely understandable once you delve into the story further. Leandro being the one who is hot for a commitment, love and family is a nice twist. Sarah Mayberry has become an auto-buy for me.
July 11, 2009
This was an okay book, nothing really all that new or interesting.
Want to read
September 9, 2011Made it about halfway through before losing interest. I do think I want to relisten some day - I just got caught up in a few other books and lost track.
August 30, 2015
Typical book. Nothing drastically different about it but enjoyable at the same.
November 4, 2012
Surprisingly decent because of the background story behind the heroine's drunk mother.
March 27, 2014
I liked the progression of Claudia and Leandro’s relationship in Hot for Him. I also liked the characterization of their families.
October 26, 2014
Naturally, after reading The secret lives of daytime divas 1&2 I simply had to purchase Claudia's story. It's a win. But then, no surprises there. It's Sarah after all.
February 2, 2016
A great ending to this series. I kept picturing Eva Longoria as Claudia and Zachary Levi as Leandro, maybe because I just watched the show Telenovela and I totally ship them.
Read
November 2, 2017Miniseries: Secret Lives Of Daytime Divas
January 3, 2011
Sexual affair between 2 soap opera producers turns to love.
January 16, 2014
Book 3 Secret Lives of Daytime Divas OK
April 16, 2017
A little slow at first but the last 1/4 was quite good, so I'd give it a C+. I still like the second book in this trilogy the best.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews