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To Catch a Cheat
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Kelley St. John Grade: B Sensuality: Hot This is the second book by St. John that I've read, and both have earned grades of "B" from me. |
Last year I wrote about Real Women Don't Wear Size 2; the bottom line was that it required a good deal of suspension of disbelief, but I very much liked the author's voice. Although I mentioned a few other problems with the book, the only one that sticks in my mind today is some purple prose. To Catch a Cheat did not suffer from that problem whatsoever.
Here's the book's blurb from the author's website:
Marissa Kincaid has a gift for dating the terminally unfaithful. After she finds her latest boyfriend lip-locked to another man, she decides to strike back by creating TheGuyCheats.com, a virtual Wanted poster for serial cheaters. Soon Marissa is spending almost all her time getting even—instead of getting a guy.
Enter Trenton Jackson, Marissa’s first crush from way back. Now Atlanta’s golden boy publisher, Trent is falling for the feisty siren Marissa has become and he’s determined to prove that he knows how to be true. But with Marissa afraid to ever trust a man again, Trent will have to do a lot of teasing, squeezing, and pleasing… before he can kiss away her fears and open her heart to love.
While I find St. John's voice refreshing, her premises are romance-novelesque. Where but in romanceland would a hero and heroine be forced together in a living arrangement in order to win a huge sum of money only if they don't fall in love? And yet, her writing is flirty, fun, sexy, and zippy.
What I particularly liked about this book was that the hero was strongly in pursuit of the heroine - this is no guy with commitment issues. I liked both characters as individuals, but as a couple I loved them. My grade isn't higher, though, because the book read slightly off-key. The leads are 'Net savvy people, the style is flirty, and the love scenes adult, which made the schmaltz factor disconcerting and frankly dissonant.
St. John also writes for Harlequin Blaze, and is in the middle of a six-book series, but her books for Grand Central - fka Warner - have all been stand-alones, which I really appreciate. I know I've only read two of her books, but I've already put her on my auto-buy list for her single title releases.
TTFN, Laurie Likes Books