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An Unexpected Man
Didn't Anne know any decent men?
Jason's duties didn't include meddling in Dr. Anne Eldridge's social life--he'd been hired to cook Anne's meals and clean her Irvine, California, home. But someone had to protect Anne from her dismal taste in men, and who better than Jason?
As Jason Brant ruined yet another date, Anne looked on the bright side: given Jason's wanderlust, he'd never last past the agreed-upon thirty-day trial period. Meanwhile, Anne could savor Jason's superb cooking--and try her best to ignore Jason's tantalizing masculinity. Or did Jason think she was dating for the fun of it?
Jason's duties didn't include meddling in Dr. Anne Eldridge's social life--he'd been hired to cook Anne's meals and clean her Irvine, California, home. But someone had to protect Anne from her dismal taste in men, and who better than Jason?
As Jason Brant ruined yet another date, Anne looked on the bright side: given Jason's wanderlust, he'd never last past the agreed-upon thirty-day trial period. Meanwhile, Anne could savor Jason's superb cooking--and try her best to ignore Jason's tantalizing masculinity. Or did Jason think she was dating for the fun of it?
250 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1987
About the author
Jacqueline Diamond
223 books173 followersUSA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond has more than 100 novels to her name! A former Associated Press reporter and TV columnist, Jackie is best known for her Safe Harbor Medical romances and mysteries, as well as her traditional Regency romances.
Her newest exciting venture is the Forgotten Village Magical Mystery series, beginning with A Cat's Garden of Secrets. Other recent works include the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series, featuring couples over age 50.
Jackie has been honored with a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She and her husband, who have two grown sons, live in Southern California. You can learn more about her books at www.jacquelinediamond.net or at JacquelineDiamondAuthor on Facebook.
Her newest exciting venture is the Forgotten Village Magical Mystery series, beginning with A Cat's Garden of Secrets. Other recent works include the Sisters, Lovers & Second Chances series, featuring couples over age 50.
Jackie has been honored with a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She and her husband, who have two grown sons, live in Southern California. You can learn more about her books at www.jacquelinediamond.net or at JacquelineDiamondAuthor on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 31, 2020
Apparently Goodreads isn’t going to tell us what this book is about, so I have to write a summary: our heroine, Anne, is an ob/gyn, and our hero, Jason, is her housekeeper. My first thought was that this could go very, very wrong given that the book is from the 80s, but on page 7 we learn that the heroine “performed two D&Cs and then a C-section” in the afternoon and I said: Holy crap, she WHAT. Way to be realistic about what the work entails, Jacqueline Diamond. (I should note that a pregnant teenager is later given a referral to counseling and an adoption service, full stop, so we’re not THAT progressive, but I’m still impressed.)
Anyway, the hero is actually a photojournalist who needs the money and is working on pulling together his latest book, because of course we can’t have a romance hero in 1987 who actually does domestic work as his sole job, but I’m willing to let that pass. He’s planning on doing a photojournalism piece on the exploitation of domestic workers in southern California using his access to Anne’s household. He experiences various crises of conscience over whether he’s exploiting the domestic workers he befriends and photographs and does his best to deal with them honestly and ethically.
The hero and heroine are attracted to each other but reluctant to confront or acknowledge it; the hero consoles himself by running off the heroine’s various dates, who in fairness are mostly pretty awful. The big revelation, halfway through the book, comes when the hero realizes he is in love with the heroine and resolves to win her, which was a pleasant change from the Leigh Michaels novels I’ve been reading recently (where the heroine always realizes she’s in love with the hero and then grovels). The big issue keeping them apart is concern over how they’re both going to have happy fulfilling professional lives while having kids.
The pacing is definitely a little odd -
That said, it’s from the 80s so there are definitely flaws - the heroine is adamant that the children need a stay-at-home parent; some of the stuff surrounding the exploitation of domestic workers is a little patronizing (in fairness, though, it does its best to avoid that), and the sex scene is truly ridiculous. I mean, that prose isn’t purple, it’s… like… octarine. (“Long before the act of union, they were united.” Is that sanitary?) Over all, though, a really nice read.
Anyway, the hero is actually a photojournalist who needs the money and is working on pulling together his latest book, because of course we can’t have a romance hero in 1987 who actually does domestic work as his sole job, but I’m willing to let that pass. He’s planning on doing a photojournalism piece on the exploitation of domestic workers in southern California using his access to Anne’s household. He experiences various crises of conscience over whether he’s exploiting the domestic workers he befriends and photographs and does his best to deal with them honestly and ethically.
The hero and heroine are attracted to each other but reluctant to confront or acknowledge it; the hero consoles himself by running off the heroine’s various dates, who in fairness are mostly pretty awful. The big revelation, halfway through the book, comes when the hero realizes he is in love with the heroine and resolves to win her, which was a pleasant change from the Leigh Michaels novels I’ve been reading recently (where the heroine always realizes she’s in love with the hero and then grovels). The big issue keeping them apart is concern over how they’re both going to have happy fulfilling professional lives while having kids.
The pacing is definitely a little odd -
That said, it’s from the 80s so there are definitely flaws - the heroine is adamant that the children need a stay-at-home parent; some of the stuff surrounding the exploitation of domestic workers is a little patronizing (in fairness, though, it does its best to avoid that), and the sex scene is truly ridiculous. I mean, that prose isn’t purple, it’s… like… octarine. (“Long before the act of union, they were united.” Is that sanitary?) Over all, though, a really nice read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review