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Brazen: A Contemporary Romance
In this fan-favorite novel by
New York Times
bestselling author Carly Phillips, one last time might be the best kind of beginning…
Samantha Reed will do anything to help her aging father pay off his debts, even if that means settling into a loveless marriage. But not before cramming a lifetime’s worth of lust into one weekend with the first available guy she finds. She sets her sights on a sexy bartender—Mac Mackenzie…the perfect man for her love-him-and-leave-him fantasy. Only, it never occurs to Samantha that she might fall in love—or that Mac might have a few fantasies of his own…
Originally published in 1999.
Samantha Reed will do anything to help her aging father pay off his debts, even if that means settling into a loveless marriage. But not before cramming a lifetime’s worth of lust into one weekend with the first available guy she finds. She sets her sights on a sexy bartender—Mac Mackenzie…the perfect man for her love-him-and-leave-him fantasy. Only, it never occurs to Samantha that she might fall in love—or that Mac might have a few fantasies of his own…
Originally published in 1999.
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1999
54 people are currently reading
1213 people want to read
About the author
Carly Phillips
406 books9,784 followersNY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller, Carly Phillips is the queen of Alpha Heroes, at least according to The Harlequin Junkie Reviewer.. Carly married her college sweetheart and lives in Purchase, NY along with her crazy dogs who are featured on her Facebook and Instagram pages. The author of over 75 romance novels, she has raised two incredible daughters and is now an empty nester. Carly’s book, The Bachelor, was chosen by Kelly Ripa as her first romance club pick. Carly loves social media and interacting with her readers. Want to keep up with Carly? Sign up for her newsletter and receive TWO FREE books at www.carlyphillips.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
November 11, 2024
2020
Alright, so the storyline is a bit ridiculous (the two main characters are both hiding something pretty huge and they fall for each other pretty quickly), but if you are after a sexy, trashy read, then this is your book.
2015
Alright, so the storyline is a bit ridiculous (the two main characters are both hiding something pretty huge and they fall for each other pretty quickly), but if you are after a sexy, trashy read, then this is your book.
2015
December 9, 2025
Decent beach read, very circa 1999 HQN romance when it was published.
Read
January 24, 2017Nice read
August 18, 2017
Eigentlich hätte es mir der Titel ja schon sagen müssen, dass das nichts wird. Ich weiß nicht, was sich der Verlag dabei gedacht hat. Ich mag ja Chick Lit eigentlich, aber da hat genau das gefehlt, was das Genre für mich ausmacht, nämlich Humor und Leichtigkeit. Die Geschichte war de facto nur "heruntergespult" (das ist schon eine sehr euphemistische Wortwahl), die Charaktere waren total flach, die Geschichte hätte genau so gut in jedem anderen Setting spielen können, da war rein gar nichts, was irgendwie dazu beigetragen hätte, da ansatzweise etwas besonderes daraus zu machen. Und extrem vorhersehbar, also alles, nicht nur der Schluss. Keine einzige überraschende Wendung. Zum Glück ist die Geschichte aber relativ kurz, so wars zumindest schnell vorbei.
July 29, 2021
📖 Read via ebook - 3⭐ - 🌶
When faced with the unbearable fact that in order to save her dad from financial ruin, Samantha (aka Sam, Sammy Jo) becomes engaged to be married to a man she doesn't love (or even really know or like).
As a last hurrah before walking down the aisle, Samantha heads to Arizona for a fling. What she doesn't expect to do is to fall for the guy she's trying to be casual with. Mac (aka Mr. MacKenzie, Ryan) has secrets of his own, but cannot help himself from falling for the bedraggled woman who walks into his bar and his heart.
This was a fast read with sweet characters. The chemistry was a bit forced for me in the beginning but it had a nice HEA.
When faced with the unbearable fact that in order to save her dad from financial ruin, Samantha (aka Sam, Sammy Jo) becomes engaged to be married to a man she doesn't love (or even really know or like).
As a last hurrah before walking down the aisle, Samantha heads to Arizona for a fling. What she doesn't expect to do is to fall for the guy she's trying to be casual with. Mac (aka Mr. MacKenzie, Ryan) has secrets of his own, but cannot help himself from falling for the bedraggled woman who walks into his bar and his heart.
This was a fast read with sweet characters. The chemistry was a bit forced for me in the beginning but it had a nice HEA.
May 20, 2022
Very good. This is a story of a 29 year old girl who has lost her mother. She is very loyal and made a promise to her mother she would take care of her dad before she died. Her dad is a financial planner (as is she) and took some risks that didn't pay off to find himself in financial ruin. Samantha agrees to marry a rich old man to get her dad out of the disaster he is in. However, driving through Arizona, the car she rented broke down. She ends up meeting a man who is a bartender, and they fall hopelessly in love. Both of them have secrets they are hiding. When they find out, wrong conclusions are made. Of course, I'm a sucker for a happy ending, and this is most certainly one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2017
Love this author
She writes on a level everyone can understand. She keeps your undivided attention the entire book. You won't want to put it down
She writes on a level everyone can understand. She keeps your undivided attention the entire book. You won't want to put it down
April 10, 2018
3.5 stars
The premise was a little bit of the roll of the eyes but I liked the characters.
The premise was a little bit of the roll of the eyes but I liked the characters.
August 23, 2019
This was horrible - I wish I could give is half a star
July 15, 2020
It was a good read.
July 23, 2020
Great, quick read with no shortage of sex in here.
July 10, 2022
Quick read and sexy. Just what I wanted!
April 3, 2024
Carly Phillips is a great author. I have a hard time not reading her books and once I start I can't stop till the end.
December 22, 2024
instalove done right. HOT sex.
April 9, 2025
Patogaus dydžio knyga kai lauki eilėse ir reikia prastumti laiką. Patiko patys veikėjai, bet pati knyga ir pats rašymas buvo labai tipinis ir banalus.
July 4, 2025
I liked it. Its an easy-going book, that has an interesting plot. They both lied to each other but I guess in the moment it was justifiable. Ryan and Sam were cute together. For me it‘s 3.75/5⭐️
February 23, 2017
Great book, trashy and fun to read
March 25, 2010
Carly Phillips is an author that always delivers a good story. Brazen was Carly's first book for the Temptation line and its been reissued on Harlequin's HQN imprint, so that everyone can read it, and its worth revisiting. I was a bit surprised that it was a Blaze Temptation, as the sex didn't really take a front and center part in the story until the second half of the book. That didn't make the story any less steamy though.
Sammy Jo was the kind of heroine I really love. She's hard working, she loves her family and she's not a whiner. She sets out to have a fling before she has to commit to a man she's marrying to get her father out of debt.
Sometimes things don't go as planned. Enter Mac "Ryan MacKenzie" who she believes is a bartender. There's an instant attraction between the two and when her rental car leaves her stranded at his bar, things really start to heat up. However, the fact that both of them are keeping secrets from each other doesn't make things go easily for them in the end. See Sammy Jo, doesn't tell Mac about her fiance and Mac keeps her in the dark about the fact that he owns a highly successful hotel. That causes a good bit of conflict in the end.
Both characters are lovable and you understand their need to keep secrets, even though you want them to share them, so that they can get it together. There are times when you'll want to shake them both so that they'll see sense. I guess that's why Zee played a huge part in the story, he helps Mac see reason.
This is the kind of book that you can easily envision being turned into a romantic comedy and a good one at that. It has all the right elements including a wonderful happy ever after.
Sammy Jo was the kind of heroine I really love. She's hard working, she loves her family and she's not a whiner. She sets out to have a fling before she has to commit to a man she's marrying to get her father out of debt.
Sometimes things don't go as planned. Enter Mac "Ryan MacKenzie" who she believes is a bartender. There's an instant attraction between the two and when her rental car leaves her stranded at his bar, things really start to heat up. However, the fact that both of them are keeping secrets from each other doesn't make things go easily for them in the end. See Sammy Jo, doesn't tell Mac about her fiance and Mac keeps her in the dark about the fact that he owns a highly successful hotel. That causes a good bit of conflict in the end.
Both characters are lovable and you understand their need to keep secrets, even though you want them to share them, so that they can get it together. There are times when you'll want to shake them both so that they'll see sense. I guess that's why Zee played a huge part in the story, he helps Mac see reason.
This is the kind of book that you can easily envision being turned into a romantic comedy and a good one at that. It has all the right elements including a wonderful happy ever after.
November 13, 2012
I tend to like Carly Phillips for a nice escape book so when I saw this one at the library book sale I had to pick it up. It was originally published in 1999. I found the premise a little disturbing: Samantha is going to marry a wealthy older man to pay off her father's debts but first she's going to have a fling. Reading the back cover, I got the impression that she was a virgin and wanted to lose her virginity to her choice of partner before marrying this other guy, but the book does imply that she's had other sexual experience. Mac is actually the owner of a large resort but he's helping out a friend by running a bar for a few days. Mac doesn't tell Samantha who he is because lots of women from the resort see him and want to cheat on their husbands with him. I guess I understood where both characters were coming from but intellectually I had a really hard time knowing that Samantha was doing exactly what Mac was afraid of. I liked the characters as people but it was still rather shady of both of them. It ended nicely, they got their Happily Ever After and there was even some nice anger about how each had used the other. It was a nice conclusion but I don't think it'll be one I read a second time.
June 20, 2013
Here's my summary: Samantha Reed decides to have one last fling before she finds herself married to a much older man she knows that she will never love. The marriage is one of convenience to get her stockbroker father out of debt. What she doesn't count on is meeting Ryan "Mac" Mackenzie in the Arizona desert. The sexy bartender is keeping a secret of his own: he's not really a bartender, but the rich owner of a nearby resort. The two begin a steamy week long affair. What neither of them expect is to fall in love. Mac prepares to propose when Samantha arrives at the resort and both of their secrets are revealed. Heartbroken Mac turns his back on Sam even though she tells him that she has broken it off with her fiance. Eventually Mac sees the light and sets out to make things right with Sam. I've read this book before, and although it's not my favourite book by the author it's a decent book.
April 18, 2016
Samantha Reed is willing to settle into marriage as a trophy wife to a wealthy older man—if it will help her aging father pay off his debts. But not before having her first, last and only fling—cramming a lifetime's worth of lust into one weekend with the first available guy she finds. And when her car breaks down near a roadside tavern, she sets her sights on the sexy bartender—Mac Mackenzie…the perfect man for her love-him-and-leave-him fantasy.
Only, it never occurs to Samantha that she might fall in love—or that Mac might have a few fantasies of his own….
I love Carly Phillips' books each of her novels are so engaging, and you fall head over heals in love with the characters. This one was def. one of my favorites of hers.
December 30, 2012
This is my first Carly Phillips book and I loved it. Normally I would never read a Harlequin book, but I have found that a little candy can really perk up your life. Sam is going to marry someone she doesn't love and barely likes to save her father from financial ruin, earn his love and keep a promise to her mother. She is looking to get laid and finds Mac. He is willing to accomdate her, but he finds himself drawn to her on a deeper level. He is gun shy due to the fact that he is rich and has only encountered women after him for his money, so he is happy to let Sam think he is just a bartender. Sam and Mac both have secrets which threaten to derail their love train
October 28, 2011
After I finished Under the Boardwalk by Carly Phillips, I found myself in the mood to read another one of her books, so I chose this one because, in all honesty, it's another short one.
Even though this is another romance novel, it didn't disappoint. I got sucked in.
While I'm not typically a fan of romances of this style, I couldn't really complain about it. As this was her first book, her typically comedic/playful banter wasn't as strong as in subsequent novels, but this story was done well.
A definite read for any fan of Carly! :D
Even though this is another romance novel, it didn't disappoint. I got sucked in.
While I'm not typically a fan of romances of this style, I couldn't really complain about it. As this was her first book, her typically comedic/playful banter wasn't as strong as in subsequent novels, but this story was done well.
A definite read for any fan of Carly! :D
December 29, 2007
Picked it up to read before bed and ended up reading it all the way through. Classic romance, but engrossing because you really begin to like the characters. Mac thinks of himself as tough or jaded, but he is really a nice guy and a good friend. Samantha has always been the good girl desperate for her parents' love, and now she is willingly marrying a rich man to fix the financial ruin of her father.
November 28, 2010
Almost ashamed to admit that I finished this book, it has such good reviews here and at amazon, but it was utter trash. I kept reading thinking that it would miraculously turn around and amaze me, but it just completely failed to do so. The heroine was so stupid that she'd have been dead before the book got off to a start and the whole premise of the story was utterly unbelievable. Not sure if I'll ever pick up another Carly Phillips book again.
May 10, 2012
I really enjoyed this story. The characters where fun as well as all the supporting ones. Samantha is one of two main characters. She has a fun filled week planned for herself before she settles for a life she really is not looking forward to. Her car breaks down & she ends up up walking into a bar & meets Mac & her whole life changes. But, both have secrets lurking that could change the course if their lives. So worth reading to find out what goes on.
March 18, 2015
Samantha Reed is out to have a final fling before she marries her rich boss as a means to bail her father out of debt. Her rental car breaks down in the Arizona desert and after a barefooted trek, wanders into Bear's bar when she meets Mac the bartender. Mac finds her company amusing but is guarded enough that he decides not to tell her he is just doing his buddy Bear a favor and that he really is the owner of a very successful resort.
July 18, 2012
Can a relationship that began with lies, overcome the test of time? Usually not. But when the lies began with real down to earth reasons, and good ones at that, were they able to overcome this test? Your heart goes out to both Mac and Sam as they wade through their emotions. Fortunately, us, the readers know their deepest secrets.
March 3, 2013
"If you want something, go after it. If you don't, you really don't want it that bad."
"We've all got choices. You make the right one."
"Mac, I would have liked 'forever', even in a little apartment over a bar..."
This is what I love about Carly Phillips and Harlequin Novels! The right tug to the heart, the teary-eyed moments and of course, the happy endings. :)
"We've all got choices. You make the right one."
"Mac, I would have liked 'forever', even in a little apartment over a bar..."
This is what I love about Carly Phillips and Harlequin Novels! The right tug to the heart, the teary-eyed moments and of course, the happy endings. :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews