Peak Performance

by Helen Brenna

Rachel Murphy always puts family first. Well, sometimes family and work--as a female NASCAR engine specialist, she has a lot to prove! She's got no time for romantic entanglements. Besides, having been orphaned at a young age, she's had enough abandonment to last a lifetime.For mountain-climber-turned-sportscaster Payton Reese, risk is what makes everything worthwhile. That is, until an encounter with Rachel makes Payton compromise his "play hard, don't get tied down" rule. Suddenly he finds himself strangely captivated by a beauty in coveralls...and wanting to teach her a thing or two about living life for herself!

But how can he be what she really needs...without changing his course?

Genres: Romance, Sports, Harlequin, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Helen Brenna grew up in a small town in central Minnesota, the seventh of eight children. Although she never dreamed of writing books, she's always been a voracious reader of romances. After taking a break from her accounting career, she tried her hand at writing the romances she loves to read.

Since her first book was published in 2007, Helen has not only won Romance Writers of America's most prestigious award, the RITA, but also numerous other awards, including Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice and the HOLT Medallion.

Helen lives happily ever after in Minnesota with family, and she'd love hearing from you. Email her at helenbrenna@comcast.net or send mail to PO Box 24107, Minneapolis, MN 55424.

Visit her website at www.helenbrenna.com, chat with Helen and other authors at http://ridingwiththetopdown.blogspot.com, or friend her on Facebook!

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peak Performance by Helen Brenna
Harlequin NASCAR Library
Secrets And Legends Series Book 6
Rachel Murphy seems to have it all together when it comes to building engines, but keep her out of the limelight and away from people. The fear that anyone close may die has her keeping a pretty big hedge of protection around herself. Everything changes when she meets the new reporter in town.

Payton Reese knows zilch about NASCAR. His goal it to be able to report and document what he used to enjoy the most, climbing. After meeting Rachel and Justin he finds that NASCAR is getting under his skin….or is that Rachel? She has her goals and he has his, so the only thing he can do is keep his distance from the beautiful gear-head. If he can.

This book gives the reader an update on some of the characters we met in earlier books. Justin and Sophia are still struggling to put the old feud to rest between their families. The reader learns more about Hugh and Kim, who each have a story coming. The next book in this series is Out of Line, which brings back Lucy Gunter from Forbidden Attraction.
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had this on my shelf and I was looking for something short while I waited for a library book on reserve. Peak Performance, while a good story with well-drawn characters in the popular world of NASCAR, reminded me of why I don't usually read Harlequin romances. They're short, true, but also short on depth. This particular book is much better than its peers in that the characters have dimension and there is a thematic component with both characters having to come to terms with losses in their lives, but there's still that depth of theme that a longer book (usually) provides. The author does, however, successfully immerse the reader in the NASCAR world through the eyes of the male character, and the twist of the female lead being the 'motorhead' is a good one.

[Laura Breck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a real NASCAR fan, but I loved this book! The hero is great, and the heroine is unforgettable!