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Avalon Investigations #1
Absolute Trouble
Julien Langlois is a man hiding secrets -- and the only obstacle between him and his plans is Dulcinea Quinn, the stubborn redhead holding him in protective custody on her houseboat. One sultry night, Julien tries to gain his freedom with some seductive persuasion -- but her passionate response to his sensual assault unexpectedly ensnares him. Dulcie's never known such a complex man, but she fears his quest for revenge will lead him down a dangerous road -- and she won't believe she's given her heart to a man who would choose such a path. How can she prove to Julien that the best choice in life...is love?
384 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1998
1 person is currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Jerott
5 books7 followersMichelle Jerott was born on 17 January 1961 in Wisconsin, USA. Her very first romances she ever read, way back in high school, were Kathleen E. Woodiwiss's "The Flame and the Flower" and "The Wolf and the Dove" (published by Avon in the mid-70s). She said: "I fell in love with Heather and Brandon, Wulfgar and Aislinn--and have been hooked on romances ever since. I like nothing better than to curl up with a good book and a hot cup of coffee, and romances will always be my books of choice. Unlike some authors, I didn't come out of the womb wanting to write books. In fact, from about the age of 14, I wanted to be an archaeologist."
Michelle graduated with a classical Archaeology degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and even attended a summer program at University of London's Institute of Archaeology. She remembered: "My first dig, in high school, was a Mississippian Indian site not far from Terre Haute, Indiana, and my last was a Roman fort outside Newcastle in Great Britain. There, standing up to my knees in mud and swinging a pick ax, I decided that maybe archaeology wasn't my calling in life, after all. A career fast track was fine and dandy, but I wanted to take the scenic route through my own life instead. So, I had a baby and eventually went to work in a research lab, which allowed me time to write. When I sat down to write my first story, I had no doubt it would be a romance. As a kid, I was disappointed that girl oriented stories rarely had the same sort of fun, excitement or dangerous adventures as the boy oriented stories. Consequently, I re-wrote a lot of those books in my head. As I grew older, I discovered the books I liked to read (and write) were those in which the heroine has all sorts of fun and excitement... and yes, even adventures, dangerous or otherwise. On July 31, 1997, after three years of writing and shopping my manuscripts around, I sold my first book to Avon. A couple days later, I won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award for that same book, an award given to manuscripts written by unpublished writers. All in all, 1997 was an exciting year! Becoming a published writer has been a long-time goal, and I'm so excited to have this chance to make my dream come true. More importantly, I hope to share with you, through my characters and their stories, a little magic, a little fun, and a whole lot of romance!"
She signed her firts four books with her real name, Michelle Jerott, and later she used the pen name Michele Albert to continued a Series that started with "Absolute Trouble", her debut novel. Her novels: "Her Bodyguard" and "Getting Her Man" were both nominated for Best Mainstream Novel by Romantic Times and "Off Limits" appeared on the Waldenbook's National Bestseller List.
Married with a father of theee, Michelle lived with her husband, her son, his three children, and two lazy cats in a small town outside Madison, Wisconsin. She passed away on 5 July 2021 in her native Wisconsin.
Michelle graduated with a classical Archaeology degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and even attended a summer program at University of London's Institute of Archaeology. She remembered: "My first dig, in high school, was a Mississippian Indian site not far from Terre Haute, Indiana, and my last was a Roman fort outside Newcastle in Great Britain. There, standing up to my knees in mud and swinging a pick ax, I decided that maybe archaeology wasn't my calling in life, after all. A career fast track was fine and dandy, but I wanted to take the scenic route through my own life instead. So, I had a baby and eventually went to work in a research lab, which allowed me time to write. When I sat down to write my first story, I had no doubt it would be a romance. As a kid, I was disappointed that girl oriented stories rarely had the same sort of fun, excitement or dangerous adventures as the boy oriented stories. Consequently, I re-wrote a lot of those books in my head. As I grew older, I discovered the books I liked to read (and write) were those in which the heroine has all sorts of fun and excitement... and yes, even adventures, dangerous or otherwise. On July 31, 1997, after three years of writing and shopping my manuscripts around, I sold my first book to Avon. A couple days later, I won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award for that same book, an award given to manuscripts written by unpublished writers. All in all, 1997 was an exciting year! Becoming a published writer has been a long-time goal, and I'm so excited to have this chance to make my dream come true. More importantly, I hope to share with you, through my characters and their stories, a little magic, a little fun, and a whole lot of romance!"
She signed her firts four books with her real name, Michelle Jerott, and later she used the pen name Michele Albert to continued a Series that started with "Absolute Trouble", her debut novel. Her novels: "Her Bodyguard" and "Getting Her Man" were both nominated for Best Mainstream Novel by Romantic Times and "Off Limits" appeared on the Waldenbook's National Bestseller List.
Married with a father of theee, Michelle lived with her husband, her son, his three children, and two lazy cats in a small town outside Madison, Wisconsin. She passed away on 5 July 2021 in her native Wisconsin.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 11, 2013
Overall Rating: 4.25 // Action: 1 / Emotion: 5 / Romance: 5 / Sensuous: 4 / Suspense: 2 // Laughter: 5 / Tears: 9
Michelle Jerott: A strong, vivid story-teller who knows how to reach deep into the heart of a romance reader by generating feelings of empathy for both the hero and the heroine. There is something about the way she writes that works for me.
Absolute Trouble: Michelle Jerott's debut novel. First book in The Pre-Avalon Series (a four-book series).
Hero: Julien Langlois. Male stripper. Self-confident. Eye-candy. Full of Cajun charm. Strong alpha male presence. Musician. Estranged from large catholic family. Bent on revenge.
Heroine: Dulcinea "Dulcie" Quinn. Strong-willed. Headstrong. Determined. No longer a cop after back broken in bust. Currently living on houseboat and preparing for next doll show.
Story Line: Dulcie is asked by her former partner to protect and hide Julien from drug dealer who wants to kill him. Julien and Dulcie spend a week together as they travel down Lake Pontchartrain on her houseboat.
Action: Only one action scene in book.
Emotion: Strongest positive quality to book. Tears and laughter are drawn forth as Julien and Dulcie must face and come to terms with their flawed pasts before they can go forward.
Romance: Julien and Dulcie are immediately attracted to each other. Snappy come-backs are thrown out as they engage in humorous and revealing dialogue. Julien and Dulcie spend very little time fighting the physical attraction which eventually leads to the emotional connection and a happily-ever-after.
Sensuous: Lots of hot, steamy lovemaking scenes and interactions.
Suspense: The only suspenseful aspect to the story was whether or not Dulcie could convince Julien to give up his quest to go after the man responsible for killing his sixteen-year-old brother.
Secondary Characters: Well-written, minimally developed supporting characters added great enjoyment as watched the relationship building between Julien and Dulcie.
See Wolf Bear Does Books for a more in-depth, detailed review of Absolute Trouble.
Michelle Jerott: A strong, vivid story-teller who knows how to reach deep into the heart of a romance reader by generating feelings of empathy for both the hero and the heroine. There is something about the way she writes that works for me.
Absolute Trouble: Michelle Jerott's debut novel. First book in The Pre-Avalon Series (a four-book series).
Hero: Julien Langlois. Male stripper. Self-confident. Eye-candy. Full of Cajun charm. Strong alpha male presence. Musician. Estranged from large catholic family. Bent on revenge.
Heroine: Dulcinea "Dulcie" Quinn. Strong-willed. Headstrong. Determined. No longer a cop after back broken in bust. Currently living on houseboat and preparing for next doll show.
Story Line: Dulcie is asked by her former partner to protect and hide Julien from drug dealer who wants to kill him. Julien and Dulcie spend a week together as they travel down Lake Pontchartrain on her houseboat.
Action: Only one action scene in book.
Emotion: Strongest positive quality to book. Tears and laughter are drawn forth as Julien and Dulcie must face and come to terms with their flawed pasts before they can go forward.
Romance: Julien and Dulcie are immediately attracted to each other. Snappy come-backs are thrown out as they engage in humorous and revealing dialogue. Julien and Dulcie spend very little time fighting the physical attraction which eventually leads to the emotional connection and a happily-ever-after.
Sensuous: Lots of hot, steamy lovemaking scenes and interactions.
Suspense: The only suspenseful aspect to the story was whether or not Dulcie could convince Julien to give up his quest to go after the man responsible for killing his sixteen-year-old brother.
Secondary Characters: Well-written, minimally developed supporting characters added great enjoyment as watched the relationship building between Julien and Dulcie.
See Wolf Bear Does Books for a more in-depth, detailed review of Absolute Trouble.
June 9, 2018
Hero: 4/5
Heroine: 4/5
Romance: 5/5
Humor: 3/5
Pace: 4/5
Suspense: 2/5
This was my second reread of this book. Great story. I immediately connected with Dulcie. It took a little longer for me to connect with Julien, but not much. It was a fairly emotional read. Which is why I didn't read the book in public… my eyes had a tendency to spring leaks while reading this. It was a bit long although the pace isn't bad. I tried to skim some scenes, but I failed at that and so just read like normal.
As I've said many times before, Michelle (Albert) Jerott is one of my favorite authors. She's the author that got me hooked on reading romances. When I grab one of her books I know I'm going to get a great story with intense situations and vibrant characters that seem to come alive. This book is no exception. The suspense is pretty tame and we're focused more on the deep/dark emotions of the characters and the romance in this one. I really, really liked this book. Even as a reread I was still sucked in and enjoyed the book. I'll be putting it back on my 'Favorites" shelf.
Heroine: 4/5
Romance: 5/5
Humor: 3/5
Pace: 4/5
Suspense: 2/5
This was my second reread of this book. Great story. I immediately connected with Dulcie. It took a little longer for me to connect with Julien, but not much. It was a fairly emotional read. Which is why I didn't read the book in public… my eyes had a tendency to spring leaks while reading this. It was a bit long although the pace isn't bad. I tried to skim some scenes, but I failed at that and so just read like normal.
As I've said many times before, Michelle (Albert) Jerott is one of my favorite authors. She's the author that got me hooked on reading romances. When I grab one of her books I know I'm going to get a great story with intense situations and vibrant characters that seem to come alive. This book is no exception. The suspense is pretty tame and we're focused more on the deep/dark emotions of the characters and the romance in this one. I really, really liked this book. Even as a reread I was still sucked in and enjoyed the book. I'll be putting it back on my 'Favorites" shelf.
July 16, 2012
I forgot how much I liked this one till I read it again. I really felt how strong the love between the hero, Julien and the heroine, Dulcie was - it seemed unforced and also helped both of them grow past their issues. It turns out to be an equal partnership with at times Julien helping Dulcie and later Dulcie is helping Julien, whose story is quite tragic. There was not much suspense for most of the story - but there's a nice exciting climax.
April 27, 2016
Real thoughts, real feelings, real words
The author was very accurate with with the locations. The characters were as real as I've ever read. Most suspense/ mysteries have a tendency to go over board with the violence, she did not. Nor did Michele feel it necessary to inundate the reader with excess police procedures/techniques. Wish she had followed with more than just one other book in series.
The author was very accurate with with the locations. The characters were as real as I've ever read. Most suspense/ mysteries have a tendency to go over board with the violence, she did not. Nor did Michele feel it necessary to inundate the reader with excess police procedures/techniques. Wish she had followed with more than just one other book in series.
August 3, 2014
Former cop Dulcie Quinn is asked by her ex-partner to keep an eyewitness in protective custody on her small houseboat. She doesn't expect the witness to be a sexy man in a G-string.
This is a nice "cabin" romance. I started out enjoying the story of Dulcie & Julian, but the second half of the book became a little too predictable for me. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
This is a nice "cabin" romance. I started out enjoying the story of Dulcie & Julian, but the second half of the book became a little too predictable for me. My rating: 3.5 Stars.
August 26, 2014
Dulcie is an ex-cop and asked to hide Julian from a drug dealer.
It had so much potential and the synopsis really intrigued me. Unfortunately, it was only fair. I can only give this 2 stars. I think there was something in the style of writing itself that didn't speak to me.
It had so much potential and the synopsis really intrigued me. Unfortunately, it was only fair. I can only give this 2 stars. I think there was something in the style of writing itself that didn't speak to me.
May 25, 2012
Going on a reread of Michelle Jerott books. This is one of her best.The hero is an exotic dancer...okay, stripper, and the heroine lives on a houseboat in New Orleans. Much fun, a little angsty, slightly dated but a good read.
February 5, 2013
I've read this one about four times now and love it each and every time
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews