One of DP’s earlier books. No Jacobsville. The setting of this story takes place in Georgia, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois. It was a very fun, very sweet love story. For some people this story will probably be ott sweet.
I guess I was in a mood for that because I ate it’s sugary goodness up. It had great characters. I didn’t dislike any of them. Even the hero, who had his jerky moments, was overall a really good guy.
I decided to read this thinking I would be getting one of DP’s nasty heroes. I was in the mood for a good one. He actually ended up not being one, and was patient, loving, and ott in lust with the h.
So who are the characters:
Margie-25, widowed(and this was a good thing) she was married to her first husband for approximately 2 months. His idea of marriage was take it when you want it, demean your wife, and only please yourself. She had been a virgin at the time and her introduction to sex at the hands of her husband was not loving in the least. Her father was the town drunk, and after the grandmother died she worked hard to provide for her younger sister. Eventually, she becomes a published author of steamy romance novels and writes under a pseudonym. She herself avoids men and her personal knowledge of sex is very virginal. I mean seriously her husband used her as merely as a sexual receptacle.
Cannon, 40 divorced several years now. He was married at 25, taken in by a red-haired bombshell. The only problem is the red-haired bombshell liked to “take in” many men on a regular basis. (Even in the matrimonial bed) So now he has one night stands every once in awhile. Since he was burned, he doesn’t want to see his little brother get burned by marrying the h’s sister. He has the means to cut his brother off monetarily if brother goes through with a wedding.
Andy- The little brother, in his 20’s. He has a great sense of humor(there is wonderful scene with him and the h in a restaurant having a good ole time at the expense of the H and h’s sister) He loves Jan and loving her makes him bolder with his brother. He isn’t going to lose her.
Jan-The little sister, is in love with Andy, but realizes that her she does hail from some great family. She wants to win over the hero, so she asks her sister to keep her romance writing job a secret since the H is conservative. She asks her sister to tone down her bolder parts of her personality.(this is no easy feat for the h, and she fails at it often with hilarious results)
Victorine-Mother of the H and Andy. Historically, many of the mothers of H’s are not very likable. This is not the case with Victorine. She sees much. She is not only happy about her youngest son getting married, but she sees her older son light up around the h. She loves the h and is there as her biggest cheerleader(it helps that she is a rabid romance reader!)
The h and H meet at a restaurant (arranged by Jan, who then doesn’t show up). Jan instructed her sister to tone it down. The h doesn’t like being told what to do and dresses in a seductive dress with ott makeup. She sees a man giving her a broody look, so she gives him her best come hither look, just to mess with him(remember she shies away from men) Come to find out it’s the H. Since his ex wife was tart supreme he is not impressed with trampy h. They have a lively conversation(one of many to come) The h is good with the comebacks. However, he doesn’t leave without heaving an insult over her small breasts and that she may want to buy some of his company’s push up bras.
The story continues with loads of banter between these two and sexual awareness. Their interactions with each other end up being sweet, because the H knows the h is frightened by physical contact. She tells him about her marriage. He tells her it is not her doing what happened between her and her ex. Her ex was selfish. He is not. There are lots of passionate moments in the story where the H is slowly teaching her how to give and receive from a man. He is very attracted to her, and he is so caring in these moments. He later tells her that her breasts and she is perfect. She likes how hairy he is. The reader sees that these two are falling in love.
The black moment happens when he finds out what she does for a living, because she lied about it. He was already betrayed by his ex with her lies and he is not pleased that he is being lied to again. He says a few hurtful things to the h, and she reverts back to her shell. He realizes fairly quickly that he loves her, but now she shirks away from him(after all that work he did to get her responsive) All looks lost until the Mother fakes a heart attack. She wants the h to be with her. The hero knows the mom faked it, but he is ok with it, because this will give him time to get his gal back.
They finally come together while they are cohosts of a dinner party. They talk about their love. They talk about their future kids(10 or so 😬), and of course marriage is a no brainer. When they come down to the dinner party, the mother remarks that their hair looks messier than before their talk…
I left out a lot. I was just very touched by the lovely scenes between the H and h. Plus, the dialogue was often funny. This is one of those stories you read where you feel all is right with the world.