A Woman's Touch by Jayne Ann Krentz
When Rebecca Wade inherited the land her boss, Kyle Stockbridge, considered his--land that was the object of a centuries old feud--she absolutely refused to sell out. Especially after Kyle almost had her believing he loved her.
Rebecca knew she was facing a modern-day gunfighter, a throwback to the lawless time when men made their own rules in the Colorado wilderness. And despite Kyle's claim that their relationship was independent of the issue between them, she knew that selling the land wouldn't solve all of their problems. For that to happen, Kyle would have to prove his love.
Rebecca enjoys her job as executive assistant to Kyle Stockbridge; he is known as having a bit of a temper but Rebecca hasn't seen a lot of evidence to back that up. Sure he is impatient and tends to micromanage but with her help he has been improving, much to the relief of his other employees. When Becky's feelings begin to develop into something deeper than admiration for her boss, she worries. She has never had an office romance and doesn't want to start now. Unfortunately, Kyle isn't going to take no for an answer and talks Becky into a relationship and then into moving in with him.
This arrangement doesn't last long as Becky finds out why Kyle has been so interested in her...a piece of land that his family has wanted for generations has just been willed to Becky. She leaves to view her inheritance with Kyle following her to Colorado to try to convince Becky to both give him the land and to continue their relationship. Becky also meets the other man who has been involved in the feud over the land and determines that it is time for the feud to stop.
Watching Becky take charge of two headstrong men who are feuding mostly (it seems) because it is what is expected of them is a lot of fun. At no time is the reader unaware that if put to the test Kyle would pick Becky hands down over the land, but Becky isn't as convinced of that as I was. However, at no point did she veer into TSTL or weak-willed woman territory. She always acted with her head held high, and while she was hurt a few times emotionally, she never played dirty or resorted to revenge for revenge's sake. She always acted with EVERYONE's best interests at heart. A real class act who wasn't afraid to confront the dragon (as Kyle was sometimes known) in his own lair.
I laughed out loud a few times during this story which is always a good sign. I would recommend this 1989 classic from Jayne Ann Krentz...it shows why she has enjoyed such longevity in the romance writing industry!
Reading Challenges
105 Challenge
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades
Bookish Bingo
I purchased this book with own funds.
Man With a Past by Jayne Ann Krentz
Cole Stockton had a will of steel and a raw determination to go after what he wanted -- including Kelsey Murdock. He'd invaded her life, assaulting her with his sensuality, tempting her to be reckless.
She sensed something dangerous about the man -- in the secrets he refused to share, the past that still haunted him, the coiled tension that denied intimacy. For Cole, the past was a closed door. For Kelsey, that meant too many questions and no answers -- the best reason to walk away, before it was too late.
But when a simple business trip turns into a dangerous survival game, she is plunged into a world Cole knows all too well. Now Kelsey must trust that he knows it well enough to keep them both alive.
Kelsey spends much of this book banging her head against Cole's metaphorical walls that he has placed all around his past and worrying that she will be locked in by the literal walls he has surrounding his house in Carmel. Kelsey can't understand how they can have a future without Cole opening up about his past and Cole doesn't understand why Kelsey isn't happy to live in the present.
A cruise seems to be a great way to spend time with Kelsey away from the normal stresses of their lives. When a quick side trip to deliver some papers for Kelsey's company turns violent, Cole can't hide his past anymore. It is at this point that Kelsey decides she doesn't need to know about it any more and that she will be happy to live in the present. Cole decides to worry about her insistence to not talk about the future. Watching these two figure out how to want the same things at the same time was a great way to spend a couple of hours.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades
Literary Pickers
Whirlwind Courtship by Jayne Taylor
When Phoebe Hampton arrived quite by accident at the doorstep of Harlan Garand's mountain cabin, he was less than pleased. Convinced that she was another marriage-minded female sent by his matchmaking aunt, Harlan would have gladly thrown her out. But Phoebe was a damsel in distress, and an attractive one at that, so against Harlan's better judgment he let her stay -- even though she wished she were a hundred miles away!
Grudging host and grudging guest would just have to put up with each other for a few days. After that, they'd never see each other again -- or would they?
Phoebe's rented car broke down on the side of the road and she gladly accepted a ride from a couple of nice farm boys who turned out to be not so nice. First chance she got, she escaped into the woods. After following a stream all night long, Phoebe stumbles, exhausted, onto Harlan Garand's cabin. Unfortunately, Harlan isn't buying Phoebe's story about how she arrived on his doorstep and Phoebe, too tired to argue goes along with Harlan's accusations so she has a place to stay. She knows the two guys who kidnapped her are out there and she can't be sure they won't come after her--Harlan seems like the best bet to get back home to Portland, even if she has to wait a few days until his relaxing weekend vacation is over.
Harlan eventually realizes his mistake and manfully eats his helping of crow. He and Phoebe head back to Portland and that is where the real fireworks start as Harlan has decided that he wants to keep Phoebe and Phoebe is not at all sure she wants to let Harlan go but she does wish he were much less high-handed in his attempts to convince her to marry him. Add in the aforementioned aunt, exes from both sides, an overprotective brother and you have all the ingredients to a really fun romp of a story. This book is from 1980 and is one of Jayne Ann Krentz's (writing as Jayne Taylor) earliest works and it is a fantastic example of her ability to take conventional plot points and turn them on their head. It is books such as this one that remind me why I am such a fan of JAK and the romance genre as a whole.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades Challenge
Bookish Bingo
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Affair of Risk by Jayne Castle
A strange flash of elemental recognition arced between them. The shock was staggering. Kendra Loring gasped as she met the full force of Case Garrett's night-dark gaze. Yet they had never met!
And once she finished her business, she promised herself, they would never meet again. Danger and darkness lurked just beneath the glittering surface of the elegant Lake Tahoe casino. Kendra had sworn that no man would ever take advantage of her again. If she let herself go, if she fell under his mesmerizing spell for just one minute, the stakes would be impossibly high, and she would be gambling far more than she could afford to lose.
Kendra is in Lake Tahoe to pay a portion of the debt owed by her cousin to casino owner Case. She wants to get in and get out, but Case is intrigued by the mystery that seems to surround Kendra. He wants to know all about her and she simply wants to get back to San Francisco. When a shady man confronts Kendra later at her hotel she finds herself in a tricky situation. Who should show up to help her sort things out? Case. From there Kendra finds herself being pulled further and further into Case's life regardless of how uncomfortable it makes her. Kendra is determined to keep her past private and to protect her cousin who is caught up in a messy divorce situation. Case, who is not content to be brushed off, keeps showing up and making Kendra's life both easier and more complicated. This book was published in 1982 and its age shows in some of Case's comments and actions but overall I found this to be an enjoyable read.
Reading Challenges
Contemporary Romance
Genre Decades
Monthly Mix Up Mania
Monthly Motif
Reading Road Trip
I purchased this book with my own funds.
The Main Attraction by Jayne Ann Krentz
Filomena Cromwell's return home after ten years set small, sleepy Gallant Lake on its ear. Gorgeous, successful and driving a flashy Porsche, she was no longer the mousy girl who'd once found her fiance in bed with another woman. And Fil was determined to show the town just how irrepressible she'd become!
Trent Ravinder, a guest at the Cromwell family lodge, observed Fil's escapades with amusement. In her quieter moments he knew she was warm, sincere and loving. He'd let her have her day, as long as she reserved the nights for him...
Nine years ago, Filomena left Gallant Lake humiliated at finding her finace in bed with her high school nemisis and tormenter. Since then she has come into her own as part owner of a successful design firm that specializes in women's wear for petite figures. Fil is back in Gallant Cove for her sister's wedding and is enjoying everyone's reactions to her confidence and outgoing fun. She has arranged several fun events for the local women and is having a ball showing everyone that she has not spent the past nine years pining over the jerk who did her wrong.
Fil is having so much fun that her family is worried about her taking things too far and once again becoming the target of unfriendly speculation. They are relieved when vacationer Trent Ravinder takes an interest in Filomena as the family believes that he might be able to keep a rein on Fil's wilder ideas. Filomena reacts with humorous good nature to their ploys and finds herself both liking Trent and worrying that he might not be so easily led as many of the casual friends she has back in Seattle.
Things slowly get more serious for Trent and Fil and watching them come together was a pleasure. Trent takes great pride in standing behind his word once it's given and Filomena is proud of what she has accomplished but also loves her family and friends with a fierce loyalty. All is well until a situation arises in which Trent doubts Filomena's intentions and asks her to prove her love and loyalty to him. Filomena is incensed that Trent demands trust but is unwilling to give it to her. Both find themselves holding out for the other to apologize with neither being particularly happy with their current circumstances. I will admit I was pretty solidly on Filomena's side as Trent's reasoning was weak and at times borderline insulting towards Filomena, however, I was happy with how everything was resolved. Filomena and Trent are a couple that I think it would be fun to revisit as they both had strong personalities that completely complemented each other in the best of ways.
Reading Challenges
Genre Decades
Contemporary Romance
Monthly Mix Up Mania
Reading Road Trip
Bookish Bingo
I purchased this book with my own funds.
Bargain With the Devil by Jayne Castle
Every line of his face, from the deep-set eyes to the arrogant nose and harshly carved cheekbones, declared that this was a man who lived by his own rules. He hadn't come to Tuscon for his health. Hunter Manning wanted revenge.
Stacy Rylan looked into the eyes of the man who meant to ruin her father. She made a bargain--agreed to marry him if he would stop his threats. With a coolly possessive air that defied protest, his hands settled on her small waist and moved slowly upward. How could she go through with it? She despised him. His touch made her tremble with outrage--and desire!
This Candlelight Ecstasy Romance written by Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) in 1981 shows its age in some places with the interactions and comments between the male and female characters. Hunter has waited fourteen years to get revenge on the man who took over his father's business, and apparently, his father's reason to live. He remembers going in and begging Mr. Rylan not to fire his father but was rejected and his father died a year later. Now, Hunter has a plan to bring the Rylan patriarch to his knees and he's going to enjoy every minute of it. The plan includes seducing Rylan's daughter-in-law, wife to the newly appointed company president.
Stacy sees the beginning salvo in Hunter's plan to turn Leanna's head and knows she must do something to protect her family. She offers herself up instead knowing that her father has pretty much given up on her ever doing what he wants her to do, and therefore mitigating the possible consequences of Hunter's revenge. Hunter accepts Stacy's plan with some terms of his own, an affair won't be enough--he wants marriage and for Stacy to become a Manning with all of her loyalty belonging Hunter.
While the overall premise was rather ridiculous, I still enjoyed many of the interactions between Stacy and Hunter (although not necessarily the one where he quasi-manhandles her on a public street believing she has just eaten lunch with ex-boyfriend--although it was fun to see him grovel when he realizes he is wrong). Stacy was a smart, independent woman who truly cared for her family and Hunter, while 80's style macho and butch, was rather sweet at times such as moving all of Stacy's plants to their new home or putting together her greenhouse when it was in a hopeless pile of pieces with indecipherable directions. Not my favorite JAK title but still a worthwhile read.
Reading Challenges
Genre Decades
I purchased this book with my own funds.
What I Read, July 11-17
- Once More With Feeling by Nora Roberts
- A Gentleman by Any Other Name by Kasey Michaels
- Running Wild by Linda Howard and Linda Jones
- Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton
- Little Miss Innocent? by Lori Foster
- Bargain With the Devil by Jayne Castle
- The Main Attraction by Jayne Ann Krentz
- Affair of Risk by Jayne Castle
- Whirlwind Courtship by Jayne Taylor
- Man With a Past by Jayne Ann Krentz
- A Woman's Touch by Jayne Ann Krentz
- Gift of Fire by Jayne Ann Krentz
- A to Z by Marie Sexton
- Coming Home by Jay Northcote
- Somebody Nice! by Raine O'Tierney
- Afterglow by Cherry Adair
- Warrior's Cross by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux
- Fitting In by Sylvia Violet
- Against the Wall by Rebecca Zanetti
- House Calls by Abbie Zanders
- Disarming Detective by Elizabeth Heiter
- The Souls Hollow by Paula Graves
- Under the Covers by Rebecca Zanetti
- Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple
