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Big, Bad Bounty Hunters #2
The Big Heat
This big, bad bounty hunter can handle anything. Or can he?Cade Stone can't believe Sunny Templeton. How did one sexy woman manage to get into so much trouble? Okay, so maybe she tried to take out a politician with her car. Who wouldn't do the same thing? But now it's landed her in jail, and the local media is out for blood. He's got to help her. That's just the kind of guy he is....
Sunny thinks being in the slammer is bad...until she's bailed out by tall, dark and dangerous Cade Stone.
The bounty hunter has starred in her nightly fantasies for weeks--and now he's offering to take her home? He might call it "protective custody," but for Sunny, it's an invitation to see if this bad man is as good as she thinks he is....
Sunny thinks being in the slammer is bad...until she's bailed out by tall, dark and dangerous Cade Stone.
The bounty hunter has starred in her nightly fantasies for weeks--and now he's offering to take her home? He might call it "protective custody," but for Sunny, it's an invitation to see if this bad man is as good as she thinks he is....
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer LaBrecque
143 books60 followersFirst, let me say this is how I show up at my desk every morning to write. Dahling, I couldn’t possibly write a word unless I was wearing 3-inch heels with a Martini at hand. NOT!!! But it’s so different, and face it, infinitely less scarey than the way I usually work, running shorts and t-shirt with a cup of tea nearby, that I had to put this picture up.
I’ve been an avid reader ever since I was growing up on a farm in south Georgia. At that time I dreamed of writing poetry while living in The Big Apple and traveling the world. Fast forward, bypassing lots of not-so-glamourous jobs such as barbeque joint waitress, telemarketer, and corporate numbers cruncher, to today’s reality. I write contemporary romance, live in The Big Peach (ya know, Atlanta), and I’m working on the world travel.
I actually live in the suburbs with my husband, daughter, three cats, two rescue greyhounds, and chihuahua who bosses the whole house.
Writing is one of the best jobs in the world and one of the most miserable–depending on which day you’re asking. However, obviously the best outweighs the most miserable or I wouldn’t be working on that next book. So, here’s the straight skinny on the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
(from her website)
I’ve been an avid reader ever since I was growing up on a farm in south Georgia. At that time I dreamed of writing poetry while living in The Big Apple and traveling the world. Fast forward, bypassing lots of not-so-glamourous jobs such as barbeque joint waitress, telemarketer, and corporate numbers cruncher, to today’s reality. I write contemporary romance, live in The Big Peach (ya know, Atlanta), and I’m working on the world travel.
I actually live in the suburbs with my husband, daughter, three cats, two rescue greyhounds, and chihuahua who bosses the whole house.
Writing is one of the best jobs in the world and one of the most miserable–depending on which day you’re asking. However, obviously the best outweighs the most miserable or I wouldn’t be working on that next book. So, here’s the straight skinny on the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
(from her website)
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 1, 2009
This was a sweet, quick and forgettable read.
Cade and Sunny were nice, but there wasn't really much going on with them. The fact that they only met each other on Chapter 4 didn't help matters. Not that I expected to have them "jump into action" right away, but the 1st 3 chapters were like "wasted time" considering this was a Harlequin book, hence a short story, and every single page counts when one is expected to believe the hero and the heroine can fall in love so fast. I guess that was why there wasn't any real tension or conflict on Cade and Sunny's relationship - there wasn't enough space left to deal with it.
The ending felt a bit rushed too - and that's a strange thing to say, since there was nothing to be rushed. I guess it all comes to the fact that I felt like the story had barely started, so I couldn't grasp the idea of seeing it end.
Anyway, there were some funny banter between Cade and Sunny, and their love scenes were hot - how they managed to do it within the confines of his Corvette, I'll never know, LOL -, so reading this book was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.
Cade and Sunny were nice, but there wasn't really much going on with them. The fact that they only met each other on Chapter 4 didn't help matters. Not that I expected to have them "jump into action" right away, but the 1st 3 chapters were like "wasted time" considering this was a Harlequin book, hence a short story, and every single page counts when one is expected to believe the hero and the heroine can fall in love so fast. I guess that was why there wasn't any real tension or conflict on Cade and Sunny's relationship - there wasn't enough space left to deal with it.
The ending felt a bit rushed too - and that's a strange thing to say, since there was nothing to be rushed. I guess it all comes to the fact that I felt like the story had barely started, so I couldn't grasp the idea of seeing it end.
Anyway, there were some funny banter between Cade and Sunny, and their love scenes were hot - how they managed to do it within the confines of his Corvette, I'll never know, LOL -, so reading this book was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.
September 9, 2009
Love this thought, I think it will be my new imagined punishment for romance heroes that piss me off (currently I am imagining them chopped into little pieces, put into a blender and hit purée thanks to Holly R)
"she had fantasized that Meek's penis would fall off in a very public place and then a group of rogue rabid squirrels would attack and gnaw his nuts off"
This book was worth it for that line alone.
"she had fantasized that Meek's penis would fall off in a very public place and then a group of rogue rabid squirrels would attack and gnaw his nuts off"
This book was worth it for that line alone.
February 3, 2008
This is a sweet, sexy story and I enjoyed it. Some of the dialog was humorous, some of the scenes erotic as I've come to expect from Jennifer LaBrecque, but this story had less conflict than is usually found in her better work.
Perhaps LaBrecque spoiled us early on with stories like Barely Mistaken and Daring in the Dark. Her readers have every reason to expect very witty dialog and very erotic love scenes.
Nonetheless, The Big Heat makes for a pleasant evening's reading.
A related story, Feeling the Heat, is written by Rhonda Nelson.
And in case you're wondering about the dedication that reads, "To Rhonda Nelson. You'll get the dead body call." We're onto you, Jennifer. I've seen this on a license plate frame, "Real friends help you move... bodies."
Perhaps LaBrecque spoiled us early on with stories like Barely Mistaken and Daring in the Dark. Her readers have every reason to expect very witty dialog and very erotic love scenes.
Nonetheless, The Big Heat makes for a pleasant evening's reading.
A related story, Feeling the Heat, is written by Rhonda Nelson.
And in case you're wondering about the dedication that reads, "To Rhonda Nelson. You'll get the dead body call." We're onto you, Jennifer. I've seen this on a license plate frame, "Real friends help you move... bodies."
July 12, 2019
I liked this because there was absolutely no relationship angst whatsoever. I have an anxiety disorder and I can’t handle fiction that makes me anxious even though I know it’s fiction. So that’s why I liked this. This is the perfect kind of light escape reading that I enjoy.
August 14, 2020
Great book!!! Definitely one that you start and don't want to put down! If you've ever read any of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum books and you enjoyed Ranger and Stephanie together this book is one you need to read.
May 4, 2015
I was looking for a comfort read the other day and for some inexplicable reason, this old category romance came to mind. I read it over and over for a few months, but I got over it and eventually got rid of it with the rest of my books from what I now refer to as The Great Blaze Binge of 2008. I didn't even remember the title or the author, just that it featured a bounty hunter in a black t-shirt and a hot kiss where the hero backs the heroine into a closet door. Luckily that was sufficiently specific that I was able to turn up The Big Heat by Jennifer LaBreque.
Heroine Sunny Templeton is running for Memphis city council when the guy she's running against pulls a photo of her in a bikini off an internet dating site and uses it to brand her a party girl. She loses the election and her reputation is damaged, but it's not until he waves to her sarcastically from his brand new Cadillac that he really gets under his skin. And she rams him with her car. Sunny is smart, sexy and the owner of her own web design business. If she has any flaws, they're endearing. Normally this would drive me up a wall, but she's just so darn likeable.
Hero Cade Stone works in the family business, which just happens to be bail bonds. When his younger brother backs a skeezy poltician in the Memphis city council race to get them some publicity, and said skeezy politician undertakes some dirty tactics to win the race, Cade feels guilty. So when Sunny's sister stops in to post bail to get Sunny out of jail, but can't stay to finish the deed, Cade agrees to go across the street and pick her up. But his protective instincts are riled and circumstances conspire to send Sunny home with him to his house.
There are some hilariously goofy things about this book that could never happen anywhere but Harlequinland. It's all coincidence, temper tantrums, unlikely family dynamics and alphamale shenanigans. But it's hard to care. Because what these characters lack in depth, they make up for in charm. And if the conflict is a little too readily resolved and the courtship a little speedy (first kiss to marriage proposal in 2.5 weeks), it has enough redeeming moments that none of that bothered me.
Cade is exactly the kind of alpha hero I can get behind. He's loyal, caring and protective of both his family and his heroine. He restores muscle cars, drives a yellow Corvette, dresses all in black, catches baddies and buys crotchless lingerie (for her). He's strong and a little bossy, but not overbearing. Just enough to make for some hot alphasex scenes, complete with caveman carry, but not so much that he runs roughshod over Sunny. Sunny is smart, funny and resourceful. She may go home with Cade when her lawn is overrun with reporters, but she has her own car towed, calls her lawyer, changes her phone number and gets her work done all on her own. There's also a spiritual overtone to the entire book--with animal totems and hints at clairvoyance--not precisely paranormal, but a little mystical. I rather enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it enough that I'm inspired to go back to some more of the Blaze books I remember loving--Lori Wilde was a particular favorite as I recall and I bought the first of these Big, Bad Bounty Hunters by Rhonda Nelson as well. I'll see if any of the rest of them hold up. Maybe not every book has to be so deep and serious all the time, yeah?
For a recipe inspired by The Big Heat, visit Cooking Up Romance: http://www.cooking-up-romance.com/201...
Heroine Sunny Templeton is running for Memphis city council when the guy she's running against pulls a photo of her in a bikini off an internet dating site and uses it to brand her a party girl. She loses the election and her reputation is damaged, but it's not until he waves to her sarcastically from his brand new Cadillac that he really gets under his skin. And she rams him with her car. Sunny is smart, sexy and the owner of her own web design business. If she has any flaws, they're endearing. Normally this would drive me up a wall, but she's just so darn likeable.
Hero Cade Stone works in the family business, which just happens to be bail bonds. When his younger brother backs a skeezy poltician in the Memphis city council race to get them some publicity, and said skeezy politician undertakes some dirty tactics to win the race, Cade feels guilty. So when Sunny's sister stops in to post bail to get Sunny out of jail, but can't stay to finish the deed, Cade agrees to go across the street and pick her up. But his protective instincts are riled and circumstances conspire to send Sunny home with him to his house.
There are some hilariously goofy things about this book that could never happen anywhere but Harlequinland. It's all coincidence, temper tantrums, unlikely family dynamics and alphamale shenanigans. But it's hard to care. Because what these characters lack in depth, they make up for in charm. And if the conflict is a little too readily resolved and the courtship a little speedy (first kiss to marriage proposal in 2.5 weeks), it has enough redeeming moments that none of that bothered me.
Cade is exactly the kind of alpha hero I can get behind. He's loyal, caring and protective of both his family and his heroine. He restores muscle cars, drives a yellow Corvette, dresses all in black, catches baddies and buys crotchless lingerie (for her). He's strong and a little bossy, but not overbearing. Just enough to make for some hot alphasex scenes, complete with caveman carry, but not so much that he runs roughshod over Sunny. Sunny is smart, funny and resourceful. She may go home with Cade when her lawn is overrun with reporters, but she has her own car towed, calls her lawyer, changes her phone number and gets her work done all on her own. There's also a spiritual overtone to the entire book--with animal totems and hints at clairvoyance--not precisely paranormal, but a little mystical. I rather enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it enough that I'm inspired to go back to some more of the Blaze books I remember loving--Lori Wilde was a particular favorite as I recall and I bought the first of these Big, Bad Bounty Hunters by Rhonda Nelson as well. I'll see if any of the rest of them hold up. Maybe not every book has to be so deep and serious all the time, yeah?
For a recipe inspired by The Big Heat, visit Cooking Up Romance: http://www.cooking-up-romance.com/201...
March 4, 2017
I didn't care for this one as much as I did the first one. Cade is just as much a commitmentphobe as his brother Linc, in the first story. He sees a picture of Sunny and has an instant recognition of some sort of connection or whatever - and it makes him determined to avoid her at all costs, lest he be the next to fall in love. But he can't avoid her because she's trouble and she gets herself arrested, so Cade is the one to post bail. She ends up living with him for two days and all that Cade predicted happens. And although he recognizes that he's falling in love with her, he can't bring himself to admit to the weakness.
Cade and Sunny experience an insta-connection - not quite love, but it's damn well close to it. The two just see picture of the other and feel drawn to each other. I'm ambivalent about that. Sunny was an intriguing heroine. She's very similar in personality to Georgia . The only difference is the presence of a bit of paranormal ability - to recognize people's totem animals. She has a bit of mysticism about her. I don't dislike it, but it was strange to see a guy like Cade so accepting of it. I did appreciate that Sunny made Cade drop his 4-week rule before she'd sleep with him. Sunny was definitely someone to stand up for what she wanted - I like that in a heroine. This was definitely a good story and overall a good series as well.
Cade and Sunny experience an insta-connection - not quite love, but it's damn well close to it. The two just see picture of the other and feel drawn to each other. I'm ambivalent about that. Sunny was an intriguing heroine. She's very similar in personality to Georgia . The only difference is the presence of a bit of paranormal ability - to recognize people's totem animals. She has a bit of mysticism about her. I don't dislike it, but it was strange to see a guy like Cade so accepting of it. I did appreciate that Sunny made Cade drop his 4-week rule before she'd sleep with him. Sunny was definitely someone to stand up for what she wanted - I like that in a heroine. This was definitely a good story and overall a good series as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2012
I loved the author's humor, but when I finished it, I never really felt that the couple went THROUGH anything to get to the HEA. That really bothered me; the relationship was basically just fast-forwarded to the point where they have a bunch of hot sex and then have the HEA, as opposed to going through more personal issues and delving into that while having hot sex and reaching an HEA. The latter is more realistic, while the former leaves the reader wondering how dynamic the book they read actually was.
March 28, 2015
It was a good story as it wasn't cookie- cutter, however the ending felt weak.
February 17, 2016
I really liked this book. It had great characters and a fun/flirty plot. I enjoyed reading it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews