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Sleeping Partner
Restoring a dilapidated hotel doesn't come cheap, but Mia Fletcher doesn't want to accept financial help from Ethan Hamilton. This dangerously sexy businessman isn't someone who takes no for an answer, however, and soon their flirting turns into something more.…
Mia knows Ethan isn't a forever kind of guy, but she cannot resist taking what he has to offer by getting him out of his immaculate suit and into bed! Surely their explosive affair will burn itself out—unless Mia can tame his untouchable heart.…
Mia knows Ethan isn't a forever kind of guy, but she cannot resist taking what he has to offer by getting him out of his immaculate suit and into bed! Surely their explosive affair will burn itself out—unless Mia can tame his untouchable heart.…
First published January 1, 2007
6 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Hunter
284 books421 followersAustralian born Kelly Hunter is a three time Romance Writers of America Rita finalist, a USA Today Bestselling author and loves writing to the demands of the short category romance form.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 2, 2012
Decent book, too much of history & talk of ghosts. The heroine always thought her mother was dead & then found out she wasn't instead she died recently leaving her a hotel that actually belonged to the heroine's father & the one he left her when they divorced, in return he took Mia.
The hero Ethan is the son of the man, the heroine's mother left them from. The H's father & h's father were best friend, see too much of family drama. She decides to restore the hotel & no matter how hard Ethan tries to be brotherly towards her, they can't and start an affair but the hero has no intention of giving his heart, he had a faithless wife who kind of took it all from him.
Somehow the explanations given didn't seem enough to me as far as her mother was concerned and I didn't see how she could be forgiven.
The hero Ethan is the son of the man, the heroine's mother left them from. The H's father & h's father were best friend, see too much of family drama. She decides to restore the hotel & no matter how hard Ethan tries to be brotherly towards her, they can't and start an affair but the hero has no intention of giving his heart, he had a faithless wife who kind of took it all from him.
Somehow the explanations given didn't seem enough to me as far as her mother was concerned and I didn't see how she could be forgiven.
February 14, 2012
The heroine Mia arrives on the island of Penang after learning that she has inherited a hotel from the mother she thought had died many years before. When she finds the rather dilapidated hotel, she is met by the hero Ethan, whom she discovers is the son of the man her mother had left her father, and her, for. Ethan knows that it is hard for Mia to find out the truth about her mother, and he wants to help her through it, but Mia refuses. Mia decides to try and renovate the hotel, and during the process learns a lot about the mother she never got the chance to know. And as much as she tries to ignore him, Mia can't deny the affect that Ethan has on her. She wants to hate him but the more time they spend together the more she falls for him. Ethan also realises that his feelings for Mia run deeper, especially seeing her strength as she comes to terms with everything, but he doesn't know if he can ever give her more.
This is a really fascinating book, and I enjoyed it. It has a nice blend of emotion and charm, and the writing is full of passion. The exotic setting is vividly portrayed and very evocative, but I got a little bored with all the myths and ghost stories after a while. The relationship between the hero and heroine felt very natural and full of spark, but I didn't quite understand the fact that the hero was the one who did most of the chasing, then changed his mind about what he wanted from the heroine - it came off as a little shallow.
The plot around the heroine's mother choosing a different life was emotional, and handled well by the author - it was written with a refreshing honesty that I really responded to.
Overall, an enjoyable book.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
This is a really fascinating book, and I enjoyed it. It has a nice blend of emotion and charm, and the writing is full of passion. The exotic setting is vividly portrayed and very evocative, but I got a little bored with all the myths and ghost stories after a while. The relationship between the hero and heroine felt very natural and full of spark, but I didn't quite understand the fact that the hero was the one who did most of the chasing, then changed his mind about what he wanted from the heroine - it came off as a little shallow.
The plot around the heroine's mother choosing a different life was emotional, and handled well by the author - it was written with a refreshing honesty that I really responded to.
Overall, an enjoyable book.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
June 11, 2018
The tone of this one was... portentious, I guess I would say. Everything was laden with meaning. Lots of sentence fragments. High Drama. I do love the way Hunter takes a standard trope (this one is stepsiblings) and then kind of does whatever the heck she wants with it. However, this one didn't do it for me: the basic background was too problematic.
In short, the heroine's mother has just died. This is kind of shocking to the heroine, because she thought her mother died twenty-odd years ago. Nope: instead she shacked up with her husband's best friend, and stayed home with him raising his kid (the hero) while the heroine, being raised by her dad in Australia, was told her mother was dead. This is (a) terrible and (b) ridiculous. Hunter does well writing emotions, and the heroine has to learn how to forgive her father, stepfather, and dead mother for this deception. And... the burden of forgiveness essentially is all placed on the heroine. No one else grovels. No one else apologizes. Everyone basically uneasily acknowledges that this was kind of a bad idea, but, you know, it's what happened, so... water under the bridge, amirite? I mean, for the sake of the heroine's personal emotional growth I'm glad she was able to come to a place of forgiveness, but from the reader's perspective, she gets there awfully easily and, like, come on! Her mother literally abandoned her for her entire life! I'm glad the mom felt bad about it! She should have felt worse! Ditto all of the other adults involved in this stupid scheme who decided not to say anything for twenty-odd years! Oh, so you feel bad now? Tough cookies!
Then we come to the hero, who has his own traumatic backstory, which felt really unnecessary: his unfaithful wife was murdered by her lover, and ever since then he's been afraid to love. Great. So now the heroine has to deal with betrayal by her parents and aspiring parental figures (the stepdad) and she has a stepbrother/boyfriend with a fear of commitment. She just gets to forgive everybody and wait patiently for them to decide she is worthy of love and care. Or not, because they're dead, and decided pre-death that the right time to explode their child's life was after they died and couldn't give any answers... by leaving her a hotel in their will... Oh, and there's some vague idea that the hero and heroine are having visions of a past life maybe? Or just dreams? That's never fully explored and felt really unnecessary.
Anyway, as usual this was well-written and engaging, but I really wanted the heroine to just abandon all these awful people and go find something fulfilling to do with her life.
In short, the heroine's mother has just died. This is kind of shocking to the heroine, because she thought her mother died twenty-odd years ago. Nope: instead she shacked up with her husband's best friend, and stayed home with him raising his kid (the hero) while the heroine, being raised by her dad in Australia, was told her mother was dead. This is (a) terrible and (b) ridiculous. Hunter does well writing emotions, and the heroine has to learn how to forgive her father, stepfather, and dead mother for this deception. And... the burden of forgiveness essentially is all placed on the heroine. No one else grovels. No one else apologizes. Everyone basically uneasily acknowledges that this was kind of a bad idea, but, you know, it's what happened, so... water under the bridge, amirite? I mean, for the sake of the heroine's personal emotional growth I'm glad she was able to come to a place of forgiveness, but from the reader's perspective, she gets there awfully easily and, like, come on! Her mother literally abandoned her for her entire life! I'm glad the mom felt bad about it! She should have felt worse! Ditto all of the other adults involved in this stupid scheme who decided not to say anything for twenty-odd years! Oh, so you feel bad now? Tough cookies!
Then we come to the hero, who has his own traumatic backstory, which felt really unnecessary: his unfaithful wife was murdered by her lover, and ever since then he's been afraid to love. Great. So now the heroine has to deal with betrayal by her parents and aspiring parental figures (the stepdad) and she has a stepbrother/boyfriend with a fear of commitment. She just gets to forgive everybody and wait patiently for them to decide she is worthy of love and care. Or not, because they're dead, and decided pre-death that the right time to explode their child's life was after they died and couldn't give any answers... by leaving her a hotel in their will... Oh, and there's some vague idea that the hero and heroine are having visions of a past life maybe? Or just dreams? That's never fully explored and felt really unnecessary.
Anyway, as usual this was well-written and engaging, but I really wanted the heroine to just abandon all these awful people and go find something fulfilling to do with her life.
May 2, 2019
The most convoluted plot line with first gen characters who messed up big time in the name of love. That includes h's parents and H's dad. h's mom leaves her husband and daughter and lives with H's dad and H and dies. The h and H meet when her mom leaves a dilapidated hotel and until then h thought her mom had died when she was a baby.
March 6, 2012
3.5/5 (B-)
I usually enjoy Ms Hunter's category romance books and Trouble in a Pinstripe Suit was no exception. I thought the H/H were both likable characters. It was nice to see Mia discovering herself and literally blooming. As for Ethan, he was nearly the perfect man: attractive, attentive, nice and helpful. I thought Ethan and Mia handled the start of their relationship very well given the awkwardness of the situation... The only thing that mar the romance for me is that Ethan was yet another hero who could not open himself to love and commitment because of his past marriage. Otherwise, I enjoyed this couple and their banter.
One thing I really enjoyed in Trouble in a Pinstripe Suit was the exotic setting. Ms Hunter definitively has a knack for writing them and making the culture come through vividly :) I also liked how complex the relationship between Mia's parents and Ethan's father was. How deeply they had loved and how deeply loss have affected them. It made it real and more poignant in my opinion. However, I wished Mia would have found more answers about her mother and her choices. It's clear she loved both men, but at the end, what made her choose Ethan's father and therefore, forfeiting Mia? And I really liked how Mia's father came around. He was portrayed as a very stoic and strict man at first and it seemed he was emotionless... but instead, it was a man who felt too much and got hurt, and therefore shielded himself... Even if it pushed his daughter away a little. Like I said, complex :)
I usually enjoy Ms Hunter's category romance books and Trouble in a Pinstripe Suit was no exception. I thought the H/H were both likable characters. It was nice to see Mia discovering herself and literally blooming. As for Ethan, he was nearly the perfect man: attractive, attentive, nice and helpful. I thought Ethan and Mia handled the start of their relationship very well given the awkwardness of the situation... The only thing that mar the romance for me is that Ethan was yet another hero who could not open himself to love and commitment because of his past marriage. Otherwise, I enjoyed this couple and their banter.
One thing I really enjoyed in Trouble in a Pinstripe Suit was the exotic setting. Ms Hunter definitively has a knack for writing them and making the culture come through vividly :) I also liked how complex the relationship between Mia's parents and Ethan's father was. How deeply they had loved and how deeply loss have affected them. It made it real and more poignant in my opinion. However, I wished Mia would have found more answers about her mother and her choices. It's clear she loved both men, but at the end, what made her choose Ethan's father and therefore, forfeiting Mia? And I really liked how Mia's father came around. He was portrayed as a very stoic and strict man at first and it seemed he was emotionless... but instead, it was a man who felt too much and got hurt, and therefore shielded himself... Even if it pushed his daughter away a little. Like I said, complex :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2016
¡3,5 ESTRELLAS!
Mía Fletcher un día como cualquier otro descubre que su madre, que creía muerta desde su nacimiento, en realidad había estado viva y acababa de morir... Y no solo eso, su madre le ha dejado en herencia un precioso pero viejo hotel. Mía se enamora del ecanto del hotel que ha heredado y decide restaurarlo, pero no esta sola... allí conocerá a su hermanastro Ethan Hamilton (hijo del actual marido de su madre) y sin pretenderlo poco a poco los sentimientos van aflorando entre ellos.
Socio y Amante fue una historia que disfruté leyendo. Para ser una novela corta, los personajes y la trama están muy bien desarrollados y llevados. Lo más destacable de la novela es ver como el personaje femenino lucha entre su deseo por saber más de su madre y a su vez el miedo por llegar a comprender los motivos por los cuales su madre la abandonó.
Sin embargo, el final me ha parecido muy precipitado e incompleto. Se centró demasiado en la historia de amor y nos dejó de lado el resto de la trama sin solucionar. Me hubiera gustado saber qué paso en el pasado entre los padres de Mia y Ethan, si los padres de estos lograron reconciliarse, si el padre de Mía decide ayudarla con el hotel... En fin, un final muy precipitado y centrado en la historia de amor dejando esos pequeños detalles sin resolver.
Mía Fletcher un día como cualquier otro descubre que su madre, que creía muerta desde su nacimiento, en realidad había estado viva y acababa de morir... Y no solo eso, su madre le ha dejado en herencia un precioso pero viejo hotel. Mía se enamora del ecanto del hotel que ha heredado y decide restaurarlo, pero no esta sola... allí conocerá a su hermanastro Ethan Hamilton (hijo del actual marido de su madre) y sin pretenderlo poco a poco los sentimientos van aflorando entre ellos.
Socio y Amante fue una historia que disfruté leyendo. Para ser una novela corta, los personajes y la trama están muy bien desarrollados y llevados. Lo más destacable de la novela es ver como el personaje femenino lucha entre su deseo por saber más de su madre y a su vez el miedo por llegar a comprender los motivos por los cuales su madre la abandonó.
Sin embargo, el final me ha parecido muy precipitado e incompleto. Se centró demasiado en la historia de amor y nos dejó de lado el resto de la trama sin solucionar. Me hubiera gustado saber qué paso en el pasado entre los padres de Mia y Ethan, si los padres de estos lograron reconciliarse, si el padre de Mía decide ayudarla con el hotel... En fin, un final muy precipitado y centrado en la historia de amor dejando esos pequeños detalles sin resolver.
April 6, 2013
I really liked Ethan, but it was a bit weird that his fixation on Mia seems to come from his fixation on her mother. Her mother was a truly weird woman, but she's dead now.
Her decision to leave the love of her life, Mia's father, and then get together with his best friend and Ethan's dad and leave Mia with her dad, so he had someone to live for.... well, we find out about it. The two men in her life seem to have loved her, and Ethan in his own way did, too.
Which is why the book has a weird aftertaste when Ethan falls for Mia and vice versa. But the setting and the old colonial hotel (with a huge white elephant in the room in that the way the white owners deal with the native people then and now is NOT adressed in the slightest, although there is some really good native restauration work and native culture included) it's just sooo exotically romantic.
It is a guilty pleasure, though, this book.
Her decision to leave the love of her life, Mia's father, and then get together with his best friend and Ethan's dad and leave Mia with her dad, so he had someone to live for.... well, we find out about it. The two men in her life seem to have loved her, and Ethan in his own way did, too.
Which is why the book has a weird aftertaste when Ethan falls for Mia and vice versa. But the setting and the old colonial hotel (with a huge white elephant in the room in that the way the white owners deal with the native people then and now is NOT adressed in the slightest, although there is some really good native restauration work and native culture included) it's just sooo exotically romantic.
It is a guilty pleasure, though, this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2013
2 stars. No rounding.
Unbelievable, and not in the good way. This whole story was too convoluted, slow and sad. The premise was interesting, but Ethan's interest in Mia felt ... Oedipal. Kinda icky, that. Further, what should have been character-building felt like too much revisiting, dwelling on, wallowing in the past. It had flashes, but overall, a muddy book.
ETA: One last note, FYI. It's also issued as Sleeping Partner (Modern Romance Series Extra)
.
Unbelievable, and not in the good way. This whole story was too convoluted, slow and sad. The premise was interesting, but Ethan's interest in Mia felt ... Oedipal. Kinda icky, that. Further, what should have been character-building felt like too much revisiting, dwelling on, wallowing in the past. It had flashes, but overall, a muddy book.
ETA: One last note, FYI. It's also issued as Sleeping Partner (Modern Romance Series Extra)
.January 30, 2013
I Read & Reviewed this as Trouble in a Pinstripe Suit
, here
Reposting:
2 stars. No rounding.
Unbelievable, and not in the good way. This whole story was too convoluted, slow and sad. The premise was interesting, but Ethan's interest in Mia felt ... Oedipal. Kinda icky, that. Further, what should have been character-building felt like too much revisiting, dwelling on, wallowing in the past. It had flashes, but overall, a muddy book.
, hereReposting:
2 stars. No rounding.
Unbelievable, and not in the good way. This whole story was too convoluted, slow and sad. The premise was interesting, but Ethan's interest in Mia felt ... Oedipal. Kinda icky, that. Further, what should have been character-building felt like too much revisiting, dwelling on, wallowing in the past. It had flashes, but overall, a muddy book.
May 1, 2012
The first half of this book was great. There was tension both between the hero & heroine as well as their own individual stories but there were a heap of family tensions also.i was fine with their story (with the exception of a bizarre dance scene which seemed unusual and anachronistic for a 24 year old) . But I felt the story of the heroine's mother was not resolved satisfactorily nor was her father's so called bitterness. It all seemed like a simple bandaid to cure deep wounds. This was a major distraction for me in what would have otherwise been a good story. It would have been much better if there had been more anger & thrashing out at the stupid parents.
April 14, 2012
A sexy, sweet, yet sentimental romance - what more could you ask for? The humorous banter between Mia and Ethan made me laugh, and I loved the side interactions between Ethan and his father. The setting was fantastic - the local colour provided additional depth to the story, which was really all about complicated messy family ties and love.
November 21, 2013
Mia receives an old hotel as inheritance when the mother she never knew passes away. She's always thought her mother was dead. But she learns a lot about life when she arrives to restore it and hires the son of the man her mother chose, as her project manager. Very interesting story full of emotion, need for forgiveness, learning life lessons.
March 29, 2012
4 stars
Flirty romance with both protagonists working through emotional scars. I found Mia's traumas much more convincing than Ethan's and wanted her to find a HEA. After the betrayals by the two most important people in her life, she deserved one.
Full review soon at www.mangamaniaccafe.com
Flirty romance with both protagonists working through emotional scars. I found Mia's traumas much more convincing than Ethan's and wanted her to find a HEA. After the betrayals by the two most important people in her life, she deserved one.
Full review soon at www.mangamaniaccafe.com
March 20, 2015
I liked the romance well enough, but some of the familial dynamics were very uncomfortable for me. Not the pseudo-brother/sister stuff because they were never that, but the deal her mom and dad negotiated. That's just so, so terrible.
I want to stay at that hotel though. That sounds amazing.
I want to stay at that hotel though. That sounds amazing.
August 22, 2015
The story had potential. I liked that the mother's motivation was ambiguous, but the live people could have spoken up more. Mia, the heroine, felt a bit anachronistic, and the hero was yet another"somebody's done me wrong so I'll never love again" type. Great sense of place.
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December 12, 2015What was that
What the heck was that ! Two stars for the begging, good story poorly written , too much back story and no romance.i see why falling in love with your step - brother doesn't pay off .
What the heck was that ! Two stars for the begging, good story poorly written , too much back story and no romance.i see why falling in love with your step - brother doesn't pay off .
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December 27, 2014Miniseries: Men Who Won't Be Tamed
Category: Classic Romance
Category: Classic Romance
Read
December 27, 2014Miniseries: Men Who Won't Be Tamed
Category: Classic Romance
Category: Classic Romance
March 23, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. The sparks between Mia and Ethan were great. I liked that they were able to bring everyone together and to forgive the past.
November 27, 2012
Mostly good, though never figuring out why her mother left kind of bugged me.
May 7, 2014
always loved kelly hunter's books... I love the dialogue more than anything and laughed at the playing ghosts :)
May 3, 2017
It was a decent read. Enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews