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Seduction in the City #2
Wild Fling or a Wedding Ring?
On her first night in Chicago, Cali McGovern meets seriously sexy surgeon Jake Tyler. Since she's still sore after her last relationship, her head's yelling Run —but her body's screaming for his touch…. For the first time ever, her head gets overruled!
Jake isn't looking for a wife—been there, done that. But his hot new neighbor is in town just long enough for a wild fling…perfect! Yet when the time's up, he can't say goodbye. Is that just because of their sizzling chemistry—or something a whole lot scarier?
Jake isn't looking for a wife—been there, done that. But his hot new neighbor is in town just long enough for a wild fling…perfect! Yet when the time's up, he can't say goodbye. Is that just because of their sizzling chemistry—or something a whole lot scarier?
185 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
4 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
Mira Lyn Kelly
94 books2,755 followersFor Mira's latest book news, sign up for her newsletter at http://www.miralynkelly.com/newsletter
Hard core romantic, stress baker, and housekeeper non-extraordinaire, Mira Lyn Kelly is the USA TODAY bestselling author of more than a dozen sizzly love stories with over a million readers worldwide. Growing up in the Chicago area, she earned her degree in Fine Arts from Loyola University and met the love of her life while studying abroad in Rome, Italy… only to discover he’d been living right around the corner from her back home. Having spent her twenties working and playing in the Windy City, she’s now settled with her husband in rural Minnesota, where their four amazing children and two ridiculous dogs provide an excess of action and entertainment. When she isn’t reading, writing, or running the kids around, she loves watching the Chicago Blackhawks and action/adventure movies, blabbing with the girls, and cooking with her husband and friends.
Hard core romantic, stress baker, and housekeeper non-extraordinaire, Mira Lyn Kelly is the USA TODAY bestselling author of more than a dozen sizzly love stories with over a million readers worldwide. Growing up in the Chicago area, she earned her degree in Fine Arts from Loyola University and met the love of her life while studying abroad in Rome, Italy… only to discover he’d been living right around the corner from her back home. Having spent her twenties working and playing in the Windy City, she’s now settled with her husband in rural Minnesota, where their four amazing children and two ridiculous dogs provide an excess of action and entertainment. When she isn’t reading, writing, or running the kids around, she loves watching the Chicago Blackhawks and action/adventure movies, blabbing with the girls, and cooking with her husband and friends.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 17, 2010
Calista McGovern is only hanging out in a Chicago jazz club because her boss commanded it. After throwing her career away years ago to move across the country for a man, only to have him cheat on her within the month, she's been entirely focused on work and regaining what she'd lost. This Chicago project she's been assigned to is a step towards the London assignment she's been coveting, and she's determined not to lose that focus. All the determination in the world, however, is not enough to resist the pull of the sexy man who rescues her from a drunk's proposition at the bar, and Cali soon finds herself breaking her own rules and indulging in a taste of some "man-candy."
Jackson Tyler doesn't do relationships, not even the casual ones. Since his marriage fell apart after his wife carried on a long-term affair, he's stuck to casual encounters with the sort of women who neither want nor expect more from him. The conservatively dressed, yet fascinatingly sexy woman at the bar is clearly not that sort of woman, but he can't resist flirting with her and seeing where it leads. When it leads to a hot (and I mean HOT) makeout session in a phonebooth at the back of the club, he knows he should run from the deadly combination of sizzling chemistry and sparkling personality, but he doesn't seem to want to follow his own rules with her.
The two meet again the next morning when Jake shows up at her hotel room, leaving Cali horrified to know that "Jake" from last night was the brother-in-law named "Jackson" her boss constantly talks about. He wants to pick up where they left off the night before. She doesn't want to risk her career by getting involved with someone she suspects her boss of being infatuated with, nevermind risking her emotions with someone whose company she enjoys and can't keep her hands off when she knows she's not staying in Chicago long-term.
The book manages to take a number of well-established HP tropes - namely the career woman not looking for love and the commitment-averse man - and yet tells the story in a completely fresh way. Cali still feels the repercussions of her earlier decision to choose love over her career. She'd gotten that job due to some favors from her references and quitting it on short notice to move cross-country burned almost all her bridges. She's far from a cold-hearted business woman who sees only dollar signs and stock quotes. Quite the contrary, she has a tremendous capacity to love and knows it will only trip her up professionally if she doesn't watch herself.
As for Jake, he's also damaged goods emotionally. I really appreciated how well Kelly handled both the reasons for his aversion to commitment and his reasons for overcoming it. He's not a callous user of women or a woman-hater. He dreads domesticity and familiarity because he likes it too much and never wants to risk having it taken away again as it had been by his wife's betrayal.
So while there is the external conflict of Cali's job and her temporary stay in Chicago, the crux of the story is the two navigating their own hangups. Kelly does a sparkling job of pacing, so as to avoid the waffling "will they or won't they" dynamic. She shows them growing together, tosses an entirely reasonable wrench into the works and then manages them back out believably. While there's angst, tension and frustration between them, the characters motivations are displayed clearly enough that it's clear a simple conversation would be inadequate to solve their problems, so it's heartwrenching rather than exasperating to watch.
Kelly created such complete and rounded characters that I wondered how they'd ever figure it out without compromising who they were. Both remained sympathetic throughout the book and I wanted to do a fist pump when I saw how Kelly resolved it. All the good in the book would've been for naught if she flubbed that ending, so I was psyched at how it all worked out.
This was a wonderful debut novel, and Kelly's now on my auto-buy list. Girl writes scorching hot love scenes with a delicate hand.
Jackson Tyler doesn't do relationships, not even the casual ones. Since his marriage fell apart after his wife carried on a long-term affair, he's stuck to casual encounters with the sort of women who neither want nor expect more from him. The conservatively dressed, yet fascinatingly sexy woman at the bar is clearly not that sort of woman, but he can't resist flirting with her and seeing where it leads. When it leads to a hot (and I mean HOT) makeout session in a phonebooth at the back of the club, he knows he should run from the deadly combination of sizzling chemistry and sparkling personality, but he doesn't seem to want to follow his own rules with her.
The two meet again the next morning when Jake shows up at her hotel room, leaving Cali horrified to know that "Jake" from last night was the brother-in-law named "Jackson" her boss constantly talks about. He wants to pick up where they left off the night before. She doesn't want to risk her career by getting involved with someone she suspects her boss of being infatuated with, nevermind risking her emotions with someone whose company she enjoys and can't keep her hands off when she knows she's not staying in Chicago long-term.
The book manages to take a number of well-established HP tropes - namely the career woman not looking for love and the commitment-averse man - and yet tells the story in a completely fresh way. Cali still feels the repercussions of her earlier decision to choose love over her career. She'd gotten that job due to some favors from her references and quitting it on short notice to move cross-country burned almost all her bridges. She's far from a cold-hearted business woman who sees only dollar signs and stock quotes. Quite the contrary, she has a tremendous capacity to love and knows it will only trip her up professionally if she doesn't watch herself.
As for Jake, he's also damaged goods emotionally. I really appreciated how well Kelly handled both the reasons for his aversion to commitment and his reasons for overcoming it. He's not a callous user of women or a woman-hater. He dreads domesticity and familiarity because he likes it too much and never wants to risk having it taken away again as it had been by his wife's betrayal.
So while there is the external conflict of Cali's job and her temporary stay in Chicago, the crux of the story is the two navigating their own hangups. Kelly does a sparkling job of pacing, so as to avoid the waffling "will they or won't they" dynamic. She shows them growing together, tosses an entirely reasonable wrench into the works and then manages them back out believably. While there's angst, tension and frustration between them, the characters motivations are displayed clearly enough that it's clear a simple conversation would be inadequate to solve their problems, so it's heartwrenching rather than exasperating to watch.
Kelly created such complete and rounded characters that I wondered how they'd ever figure it out without compromising who they were. Both remained sympathetic throughout the book and I wanted to do a fist pump when I saw how Kelly resolved it. All the good in the book would've been for naught if she flubbed that ending, so I was psyched at how it all worked out.
This was a wonderful debut novel, and Kelly's now on my auto-buy list. Girl writes scorching hot love scenes with a delicate hand.
July 25, 2010
OK--I read other reviews and couldn't quite believe a debut author could be that good. Well, she is! I really liked this heroine. She was strong without being the b*tchy type. And was willing to risk her heart and the pain of loving. And the hero, well, I really loved Jake though at times I wanted to smack him (which really wasn't fair on my part as he was upfront with Cali right from the start). Yes, this plot has been done before but she has put such a fresh face to it. This book did cause alot of angst (which I love) and my heart broke for Cali several times. But this is an HP and we know how they end. I will definitely be looking for this author's next one.
January 11, 2011
OMG!I loved this book. First of all the heroine had a job, she wasn't ready to give up everything for the hero and throughout the whole book you could feel the relationship and love grow. I loved the ending and resolution especially. Jack was an amazing hero.
October 2, 2011
Wonderful Terrific read enjoyed the story so much,what i most liked was Cali did not compromise on her career,yes she wanted the love and relationship with Jake but not at the cost of her job for which she has been working so hard and after what that jerk Erik did its understandable and i was so glad she learned from her mistakes and did'nt compromised .
Adored Jake so much,he is one caring humble strong moralistic man,he is one commitment phobic guy but what he went through after that its quiet understandable,but till today what ever casual dates and relations he had never did he hurt anyone,he cared about others feelings
Overall this is a wonderful heart warming story of two people who have been burned badly in past,they do not want any relation,they become good friends enjoy each others company, the passion,attraction and connection between them is very strong,as time passes by their friendship develops more deeply and slowly they fall in love,they both tried to deny and give many other names but LOVE you just cannot escape it,its such a powerful bond that ties two people forever and here also Jake-Cali were bonded for life
After going their seperate ways both realise they just cannot live with each other,Jake confesses and accepts that he is in love and goes to Cali and we have a beautiful re-union and HEA
Good read
Recommend it
Adored Jake so much,he is one caring humble strong moralistic man,he is one commitment phobic guy but what he went through after that its quiet understandable,but till today what ever casual dates and relations he had never did he hurt anyone,he cared about others feelings
Overall this is a wonderful heart warming story of two people who have been burned badly in past,they do not want any relation,they become good friends enjoy each others company, the passion,attraction and connection between them is very strong,as time passes by their friendship develops more deeply and slowly they fall in love,they both tried to deny and give many other names but LOVE you just cannot escape it,its such a powerful bond that ties two people forever and here also Jake-Cali were bonded for life
After going their seperate ways both realise they just cannot live with each other,Jake confesses and accepts that he is in love and goes to Cali and we have a beautiful re-union and HEA
Good read
Recommend it
January 18, 2012
I love this book. It's 99.99% perfect. Any book that keeps me laughing chapter after chapter earns a spot on my keeper shelf. Okay, two copies (have to have a loaner.) Ms. Kelly earned her spot on my auto-buy list with this.
February 2, 2011
What I liked about this book was the writing. It was well written and the author did a very good job of making the reader feel the chemistry and the connection that the two main characters had. Very sensual, romantic, and passionate.
January 14, 2020
I liked both characters. I liked the premise, the conflict, the way they navigated their particular hang-ups, the lack of abuse, the resolution. The sex. :D Well done.
May 12, 2017
Leído el 17/05/2012
UN AMOR POR DESCUBRIR
Protagonistas: Jake tyler y Cali McGovern
Argumento:
¡Era incapaz de resistirse al mayor seductor de Chicago!
Durante su primera noche en Chicago, Cali McGovern había hecho el amor con el atractivo cirujano Jake Tyler. Cali todavía no se había recuperado de su última relación amorosa, y la razón le decía que debería salir corriendo; pero su cuerpo añoraba el contacto de Jake.
Jake no estaba buscando esposa; ya había pasado por eso y no quería repetir la experiencia. Sin embargo, su nueva y apasionada vecina sólo estaría en Chicago el tiempo suficiente para mantener una aventura breve, lo cual le parecía perfecto.
Pero cuando llegó el momento, descubrió que no podía despedirse de ella. ¿Sería por las chispas que saltaban cuando estaban juntos? ¿O por algo mucho más inquietante?
UN AMOR POR DESCUBRIR
Protagonistas: Jake tyler y Cali McGovern
Argumento:
¡Era incapaz de resistirse al mayor seductor de Chicago!
Durante su primera noche en Chicago, Cali McGovern había hecho el amor con el atractivo cirujano Jake Tyler. Cali todavía no se había recuperado de su última relación amorosa, y la razón le decía que debería salir corriendo; pero su cuerpo añoraba el contacto de Jake.
Jake no estaba buscando esposa; ya había pasado por eso y no quería repetir la experiencia. Sin embargo, su nueva y apasionada vecina sólo estaría en Chicago el tiempo suficiente para mantener una aventura breve, lo cual le parecía perfecto.
Pero cuando llegó el momento, descubrió que no podía despedirse de ella. ¿Sería por las chispas que saltaban cuando estaban juntos? ¿O por algo mucho más inquietante?
October 22, 2018
This 3.5 star rating is relatively compared to other MLK's books.
I just realized that this is MLK's first book. Now I understand why this one and several others (Front Page Affair, Never Stay Past Midnight, The S Before the Ex) feel a little different than the others (which I also just realized, recently published). Just to be clear, I love the recent ones. The old ones, hmm, they're good but not nearly as captivating.
I find the more recent heroes are more interesting, because they feel more real and show more vulnerability.
Having said that, this one is okay if you looking for something sweet with a little drama on top.
I just realized that this is MLK's first book. Now I understand why this one and several others (Front Page Affair, Never Stay Past Midnight, The S Before the Ex) feel a little different than the others (which I also just realized, recently published). Just to be clear, I love the recent ones. The old ones, hmm, they're good but not nearly as captivating.
I find the more recent heroes are more interesting, because they feel more real and show more vulnerability.
Having said that, this one is okay if you looking for something sweet with a little drama on top.
July 12, 2012
3.5 Stars
I'm not generally a fan of Harlequin Presents books because I find them either too formulaic or completely unbelievable. And the titles. Could they be any worse? This one isn't as bad as some others but I'm glad I read this on a Kindle. It prevented my family from mocking me.
This book surprised me, however, and I really enjoyed reading it. While it was a little formulaic (a requirement probably inherent to the publisher), I found it more believable than most. The writing was solid, there were no big secrets or prolonged misunderstandings. No villains. No secret baby. The romantic tension was well done and there was more heat than I thought was standard for HPs.
The heroine, Cali, was overly repetitive with her internal dialogue about having to keep work her focus and not getting involved with the hero, Jake. Her character was wound so tight, though, that I suppose it made sense that she was also a little OCD in her thoughts. The hero was a tad too accomplished and successful. A heart surgeon would have sufficed.. did he really need to be a millionaire and real-estate tycoon? When he wasn't being stubbornly commitment-phobic, he had some great humor and self-awareness.
Overall, the first half of the book was fantastic. It dragged a bit for the next 25% but picked back up at the end.
I'm not generally a fan of Harlequin Presents books because I find them either too formulaic or completely unbelievable. And the titles. Could they be any worse? This one isn't as bad as some others but I'm glad I read this on a Kindle. It prevented my family from mocking me.
This book surprised me, however, and I really enjoyed reading it. While it was a little formulaic (a requirement probably inherent to the publisher), I found it more believable than most. The writing was solid, there were no big secrets or prolonged misunderstandings. No villains. No secret baby. The romantic tension was well done and there was more heat than I thought was standard for HPs.
The heroine, Cali, was overly repetitive with her internal dialogue about having to keep work her focus and not getting involved with the hero, Jake. Her character was wound so tight, though, that I suppose it made sense that she was also a little OCD in her thoughts. The hero was a tad too accomplished and successful. A heart surgeon would have sufficed.. did he really need to be a millionaire and real-estate tycoon? When he wasn't being stubbornly commitment-phobic, he had some great humor and self-awareness.
Overall, the first half of the book was fantastic. It dragged a bit for the next 25% but picked back up at the end.
August 29, 2011
3.5* Rounding down for goodreads.
After an interesting first chapter, the book gets bogged down in misunderstanding, and the characters spend too much time in their heads thinking about why they can't be together or how they can't resist each other. The sex scenes are steamy and well written, and in the last half of the book, the story and characters get more interesting. I didn't care for either character in the first part of the book, but liked each better by the end. The author does a good job building angst in the last part and the resolution was sweet.
Overall the book was a nice way to spend a few hours and worth reading if you can easily get a copy.
After an interesting first chapter, the book gets bogged down in misunderstanding, and the characters spend too much time in their heads thinking about why they can't be together or how they can't resist each other. The sex scenes are steamy and well written, and in the last half of the book, the story and characters get more interesting. I didn't care for either character in the first part of the book, but liked each better by the end. The author does a good job building angst in the last part and the resolution was sweet.
Overall the book was a nice way to spend a few hours and worth reading if you can easily get a copy.
July 1, 2012
I loved the relationship building between Cali and Jake. I loved that they had fun and hot sex. I like when the female has a career and something to do besides wait around for the man.
March 1, 2015
I love that this is a Chicago book. I love that it actually uses the city. I am into the idea of a stealth matchmaking book, a little less into how this is done. I like that she goes to London and that he follows her. I could have done without some of the drama before they get there.
But I liked this.
But I liked this.
July 11, 2012
I read this book when it first came out in 2010 - reread it and didn't remember one single thing about it! Didn't like it any more the second time around. The title did ring a vague bell, but Presents titles can be very similar so I didn't think twice. Time wasted.
September 1, 2012
Another fantastic romance novel published by harlequin. I have loved all of the ones I have read. The reason I give this one four stars is at times the characters upset with what they were thinking or doing. Other than that it was a great easy read.
March 1, 2013
3.25 stars.
Good contemporary. Few false notes. This was a solid read. This author has has some misses, but not in this book. Will keep reading Mira Lyn Kelly.
Really, really, really hate these titles!
Good contemporary. Few false notes. This was a solid read. This author has has some misses, but not in this book. Will keep reading Mira Lyn Kelly.
Really, really, really hate these titles!
July 22, 2010
Amazing debut! Can't wait for her next one.
August 22, 2010
4.25 out of 5
December 21, 2019
stupid characters!
September 11, 2011
This book reminded me of early Jennifer Crusie. Especially the first few chapters. Had me laughing out loud. This is an author I'll stick with.
December 1, 2011
4.5 stars -- I really liked this one. Definitely hot sex scenes, and good emotional tension. A nice, modern, realistic romance.
April 16, 2014
I enjoy this author a lot and wasn't disappointed by this book. Likable couple, enjoyed reading their growing relationship. Would read again.
Read
August 4, 2010Freebie from Tell Harlequin. Didn't interest me.
April 24, 2011
very annoying heroine..
February 23, 2013
02/22/13*
March 6, 2014
Not my favorite by this author.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews