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Paradise
In these tales of love by some of romance's brightest writers, four couples put on their blue suede shoes and learn they don't need a Hawaiian vacation to find paradise. Whether they're in Las Vegas or Pennsylvania, passion will blossom where they least expect it--especially with a little help from Elvis himself.
368 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Madeline Baker
88 books288 followersMadeline Ruth was born on 1963 in California, where she raised. She married her high school sweetheart and they have three sons, all handsome enough to be cover models. Growing up, her favorite pastimes were going to the movies and going horseback riding on Saturday mornings at Griffith Park. Madeline has always been "horse happy." A horse was the one thing she asked for on every birthday and every Christmas. Many years later, that dream came true when she bought an Appaloosa mare named Candy—because she was so sweet. Madeline loves animals. Over the years, she's had numerous dogs, cats, fish, mice, hamsters, turtles and birds, and her horse, of course. The most exotic pet was a crocodile that belonged to one of her sons. Currently, she has a terribly spoiled Pomeranian named Teddi, six goldfish, a catfish, and a betta. When she's not writing, Madeline enjoys going to movies and the theater. Her favorite plays are The Phantom of the Opera, The Scarlet Pimpernel and her all-time fave, Beauty and the Beast. She also loves reading, going to lunch with her best friend, collecting Star Wars, The Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast memorabilia, and playing with the most beautiful, adorable, brilliant grandkids in the world.
Madeline started writing when her children were still at home, and she wrote for several years, finding time to write after her children were in bed and her husband was at work. In true cliché fashion, she wrote the books and put them under the bed, never telling anyone what she was doing, until one day she let a friend read one. Encouraged by her friend's comments, and armed with a copy of Writer's Market supplied by said friend, Madeline began sending out query letters. After six years and 31 rejections, Leisure Books bought Reckless Heart, and she's been writing ever since. After writing several Westerns, Madeline decided to try her hand at something else and wrote her first vampire romance. It was a short story titled "Masquerade" for an anthology. She loved writing that so much that she wrote her first full-length vampire romance, Embrace the Night, and thus Amanda Ashley was born. One of her dreams had been to write for Harlequin, and she accomplished that in 2003 with the publication of her Silhouette Romance novel, Dude Ranch Bride. Madeline loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her online at DarkWritr@aol.com or by mail at PO Box 1703, Whittier, CA 90609-1703.
Madeline started writing when her children were still at home, and she wrote for several years, finding time to write after her children were in bed and her husband was at work. In true cliché fashion, she wrote the books and put them under the bed, never telling anyone what she was doing, until one day she let a friend read one. Encouraged by her friend's comments, and armed with a copy of Writer's Market supplied by said friend, Madeline began sending out query letters. After six years and 31 rejections, Leisure Books bought Reckless Heart, and she's been writing ever since. After writing several Westerns, Madeline decided to try her hand at something else and wrote her first vampire romance. It was a short story titled "Masquerade" for an anthology. She loved writing that so much that she wrote her first full-length vampire romance, Embrace the Night, and thus Amanda Ashley was born. One of her dreams had been to write for Harlequin, and she accomplished that in 2003 with the publication of her Silhouette Romance novel, Dude Ranch Bride. Madeline loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her online at DarkWritr@aol.com or by mail at PO Box 1703, Whittier, CA 90609-1703.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 25, 2023
I failed to read the blurb before buying this used book. Just saw the cover…anthology…paradise…cool, I’ll read it. First story was about Elvis. Little strange, but okay. Then got to the title of the second, “Hunka hunka” At that point, I read the blurb as I realize that Elvis is the theme? What? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t find Elvis very romantic. So this just ended up being the weirdest themed anthology I’ve ever read. Stories were mostly good, but the theming was so strange.
Jessie’s Girl - Madeline Baker - 3/5 - Kathy is an Elvis FANGIRL. So for her first major vacation, she visits Graceland and then Las Vegas, to follow in his footsteps. There she meets Elvis impersonator, Jessie Presley. Thing is, he’s maybe not just an impersonator? Jessie and Kathy fall madly in love of course. Insta-love to be precise. They don’t seem to know anything about each other. She certainly doesn’t know that
Truthfully…I don’t find Elvis to be all that romantic of a figure. Probably has something to do with my generation, for which this book was most likely not written. But it is very easy to forget that . In this story, rationality is not the general rule. There are a lot of impulsive decisions being made like, “Sure, I’ll quit my job, rent out my condo and move into your hotel suite after spending less than a week with you!” I much prefer level-headed, rational thinking characters. The conflict was much better. Although, Kathy took Jessie’s secret much better than I would have. It wasn’t the secret that was the problem so much as the implications for their future, and Kathy needed to weigh the pros and cons of it all. I was actually quite pleased with the solution in this case . I also really appreciated that Jessie didn’t push Kathy into anything. He was respectful of her as an individual on the whole (one or two small instances excepted). Overall, a solid story, just not my favorite theme/character.
The Hunka Hunka and the Penny-pincher - Nina Bangs - 3/5 - Dylan owns an amusement park and his investor sends his daughter, Julia to discuss cost-cutting measures for the park. Dylan doesn’t want that because he knows that what they’re spending is necessary, but Julia is trying to do her job, making suggestions that Dylan resents. Of course, there’s an instant attraction that is palpable. I mean, the chemistry between these two is off the charts. And there’s also a psychic stepmother, a hypnotic suggestion involving kissing to Elvis songs and an Elvis spirit guide.
This had a lot happening in it. It’s a bit over the top at times. There’s a lot of angst relating to whether or not the hypnotic suggestion is the reason for the attraction or not. I didn’t love the fact that Dylan even once took advantage of the hypnosis once he’d learned about it. But I do like that he was upfront and honest about it fairly early on. These two made an adorable couple and their passion was intense. I didn’t love how the author made it out so being thrifty was such a bad thing. Granted, it was bad when it came to cutting costs of the park, but thrifty in your daily life is not so bad at all.
Heaven Sent - Ann Lawrence - 4/5 - Interesting premise here. Jack Ryan is a pitcher for the Red Sox who offers God “anything” for the perfect pitch game. And that ropes him into a new job where he tracks down escapees from Heaven. And Elvis is his latest case. He tracks down Elvis to a small town where Elvis is hiding out with Opal, the head of his fan club, finishing some unfinished business. Jack meets Tuesday Evans and introduces himself as a reporter investigating claims that Elvis is alive. Tuesday, being Opal’s daughter and trying to protect her, lies right back claiming she doesn’t know Opal and proceeds to do her best to distract Jack from his goal, which of course leads to them falling in love. Also, throw in some drama about a company trying to buy Opal’s land and resorting to violent means.
I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did…probably because the initial set up was a little corny. But I ended up really liking it. Both characters had damn good reasons to lie and both characters pretty much recognized that and didn’t hold it against the other. While knowing that they were lying to the other caused some internal angst, it didn’t lead to major relationship angst. I do wish they’d gotten to know each other a bit better before talking about marriage and love.
The Best-Laid Plans - Kathleen Nance - 4/5 - GG is a doctor vacationing in Hawaii with her twin sis Pris (who hears Elvis’s voice in her head and is psychic). She wants to learn how to dive, which is going to be difficult because she has a fear of open water and she’s something of a control freak, which means she doesn’t want anyone seeing her panic or lose control. Ric Menendez is her new instructor. He’s a lot more laid back than GG and has his own past issues of letting his personal life interfere with business decisions…a business he has worked really hard to build. The two naturally build up to a romance as they work together, but worry about whether it’s something that can last, given their individual ambitions.
VERY likeable characters here. I really like how the author made GG a “control freak” but still made her likeable. Yes, she has a 5-year plan, and yes, she is determined to check things off a list, but she’s flexible and spontaneous when she needs to be. Ric is laidback, but he’s not annoyed or put off by GG’s controlling behaviors. He’s that chill. And they’re romance comes about mostly angst free with both agreeing to a fling and knowing it can’t really be long term, but then recognizing that feelings are happening. The angst comes in when they’ve revealed their feelings, but neither seems willing to sacrifice their hard work for love. But the end solution kind of ended up being perfect because in the end,
Jessie’s Girl - Madeline Baker - 3/5 - Kathy is an Elvis FANGIRL. So for her first major vacation, she visits Graceland and then Las Vegas, to follow in his footsteps. There she meets Elvis impersonator, Jessie Presley. Thing is, he’s maybe not just an impersonator? Jessie and Kathy fall madly in love of course. Insta-love to be precise. They don’t seem to know anything about each other. She certainly doesn’t know that
Truthfully…I don’t find Elvis to be all that romantic of a figure. Probably has something to do with my generation, for which this book was most likely not written. But it is very easy to forget that . In this story, rationality is not the general rule. There are a lot of impulsive decisions being made like, “Sure, I’ll quit my job, rent out my condo and move into your hotel suite after spending less than a week with you!” I much prefer level-headed, rational thinking characters. The conflict was much better. Although, Kathy took Jessie’s secret much better than I would have. It wasn’t the secret that was the problem so much as the implications for their future, and Kathy needed to weigh the pros and cons of it all. I was actually quite pleased with the solution in this case . I also really appreciated that Jessie didn’t push Kathy into anything. He was respectful of her as an individual on the whole (one or two small instances excepted). Overall, a solid story, just not my favorite theme/character.
The Hunka Hunka and the Penny-pincher - Nina Bangs - 3/5 - Dylan owns an amusement park and his investor sends his daughter, Julia to discuss cost-cutting measures for the park. Dylan doesn’t want that because he knows that what they’re spending is necessary, but Julia is trying to do her job, making suggestions that Dylan resents. Of course, there’s an instant attraction that is palpable. I mean, the chemistry between these two is off the charts. And there’s also a psychic stepmother, a hypnotic suggestion involving kissing to Elvis songs and an Elvis spirit guide.
This had a lot happening in it. It’s a bit over the top at times. There’s a lot of angst relating to whether or not the hypnotic suggestion is the reason for the attraction or not. I didn’t love the fact that Dylan even once took advantage of the hypnosis once he’d learned about it. But I do like that he was upfront and honest about it fairly early on. These two made an adorable couple and their passion was intense. I didn’t love how the author made it out so being thrifty was such a bad thing. Granted, it was bad when it came to cutting costs of the park, but thrifty in your daily life is not so bad at all.
Heaven Sent - Ann Lawrence - 4/5 - Interesting premise here. Jack Ryan is a pitcher for the Red Sox who offers God “anything” for the perfect pitch game. And that ropes him into a new job where he tracks down escapees from Heaven. And Elvis is his latest case. He tracks down Elvis to a small town where Elvis is hiding out with Opal, the head of his fan club, finishing some unfinished business. Jack meets Tuesday Evans and introduces himself as a reporter investigating claims that Elvis is alive. Tuesday, being Opal’s daughter and trying to protect her, lies right back claiming she doesn’t know Opal and proceeds to do her best to distract Jack from his goal, which of course leads to them falling in love. Also, throw in some drama about a company trying to buy Opal’s land and resorting to violent means.
I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did…probably because the initial set up was a little corny. But I ended up really liking it. Both characters had damn good reasons to lie and both characters pretty much recognized that and didn’t hold it against the other. While knowing that they were lying to the other caused some internal angst, it didn’t lead to major relationship angst. I do wish they’d gotten to know each other a bit better before talking about marriage and love.
The Best-Laid Plans - Kathleen Nance - 4/5 - GG is a doctor vacationing in Hawaii with her twin sis Pris (who hears Elvis’s voice in her head and is psychic). She wants to learn how to dive, which is going to be difficult because she has a fear of open water and she’s something of a control freak, which means she doesn’t want anyone seeing her panic or lose control. Ric Menendez is her new instructor. He’s a lot more laid back than GG and has his own past issues of letting his personal life interfere with business decisions…a business he has worked really hard to build. The two naturally build up to a romance as they work together, but worry about whether it’s something that can last, given their individual ambitions.
VERY likeable characters here. I really like how the author made GG a “control freak” but still made her likeable. Yes, she has a 5-year plan, and yes, she is determined to check things off a list, but she’s flexible and spontaneous when she needs to be. Ric is laidback, but he’s not annoyed or put off by GG’s controlling behaviors. He’s that chill. And they’re romance comes about mostly angst free with both agreeing to a fling and knowing it can’t really be long term, but then recognizing that feelings are happening. The angst comes in when they’ve revealed their feelings, but neither seems willing to sacrifice their hard work for love. But the end solution kind of ended up being perfect because in the end,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2012
All the short stories have a common "Elivis" thread running through them. It was fun to see how the various authors decided to take on bringing The King into a modern story. All in all, fun to read, although sometimes hard to get through.
September 22, 2007
Good book, four romance stories where "The King of RocknRoll" plays a part.
September 3, 2010
Loosely themed anthology with the usual mixed quality. I enjoyed Nina Bang's take on Elvis... A read-once.
May 31, 2013
Decent stories for a quick read. This is an anthology, so the tales are meant to be fast paced.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews