Getting Real

Prepare to enter a world of the unknown, a place where anything can happen and nothing is quite what it seems. No, this book does not revolve around a mystical place but rather the set of a reality television series.

Surviving Sarah: Vicki Lewis Thompson
Financial planner Luke Richards has had a secret crush on actress Sarah Donovan since she starred in her first movie when she was a teenager. Now, thanks to a new reality television series, he has the opportunity to find out if HIS fantasies can become THEIR reality. Sarah is not at all sure about this new gig her agent has for her, but she has never steered her wrong in the past so she agrees. The objective is for twenty-five men to use their brawn and their brains in order to win the fair Sarah. It only takes one look into Luke’s sexy blue eyes for Sahah to know whom SHE hopes will win the competition.

Surviving Sarah has Vicki Lewis Thompson written all over it. It is fun and sexy with a hero who is perfectly balanced between humble and confident. The secondary characters add a lot of humor and depth to the story and I loved the “male bonding” that went on among the contestants. This is a wonderful feel good story that will leave you with a smile on your face and an itch to tune into that new reality show you saw advertised last week.

The Great Chase: Julie Elizabeth Leto
Executive television producer Burt Mueller plans to kill two birds with one stone. He is going to create a reality show that has real life private detectives solving cases. By doing this he will be one step closer to being back at the top of his career and he will discover who has been sending him anonymous letters and gifts. The two detectives to whom he plans to feed the clues are former lovers Charlotte “Charlie” Cuesta and Sam Ryan. Nine years ago they were both dismissed from the police academy and no one knows the whole story behind that dismissal. What Burt does know is that apart, they are great detectives but when paired together they are unstoppable. Unstoppable is also the perfect way to describe the passion and anticipation that sizzles whenever they are near one another. Will Charlie and Sam be able to lay aside the past so they can work together, not only to solve this case, but to begin to build a future together?

This is a read-in-one-sitting-story not only because of the fire that Charlie and Sam generate but because the mystery absolutely had me stumped. Ms. Leto does a wonderful job of blending a super hot romance with an extra helping of mystery. It’s very hard to resist a good whodunit and with this one I recommend that you don’t resist, but indulge.

The Last Virgin: Jennifer LaBrecque
Journalist Zach Roberts finally has the chance he’s been waiting for; to prove there is no “reality” in reality television. He can save his career at the same time. Thanks to a corporate buy out of the magazine for which he works, Zach is scrambling to come up with a story that will blow the new owners away and cement his position with the new company. When he hears about auditions for the newest show, The Single Girl, he knows this is his story. Zach is about to find out just how “real” reality television is. Andrea Scarpini becomes “the single girl” thinking that it is the perfect opportunity to meet her dream man; the man who can help her rid herself of the title “the last virgin” which her friends have bestowed upon her. Andrea has no idea of the twist that awaits her or of the secrets which Zach is hiding. When all is revealed will Andrea have her dream man or a broken heart?

I must admit to being less than thrilled with the concept of the show in this story, however considering some of the turns that reality television has taken it IS realistic. From the second that Andrea and Zach meet the sparks fly, the electricity sizzles and my doubts quickly faded into oblivion as I lost myself in one of the sweetest romances that I’ve read in a long time. Zach is everything that a romance hero should be. The best part is that Ms. LaBrecque has a follow up story in the Temptation line in February entitled Really Hot. I imagine that it will be.

Reviewed by: Missy