Really Hot!

Today I have been burning a new candle scent, and it's now one of my favorites: Grapefruit Blossom. Very nice.

Barely Behaving was my first Jennifer LaBrecque read, and I remember liking but not loving it. I loved Better Than Chocolate . . ., though, so I picked up Really Hot! when it came out in February. It's part of a series about reality TV. There's enough explanation that it works well on its own, but it includes a spoiler from one of the previous stories.

I have to admit that I haven't relished the recent romance trend of reality TV settings. I'm not a big fan of reality TV myself, except for Dog, The Bounty Hunter (which probably says something scary about me). Even that I watch sporadically. I probably wouldn't have picked up this book if LaBrecque weren't the author. That would have been a bad thing, because I would have missed a good story: 4 out of 5.

Rourke O'Malley is the star of a new reality series where 12 women will vie for his attention. He was a runner up in a previous show with the opposite scenario, but his good looks and charisma make him an ideal focus for a show of his own. These same qualities also bring him to the attention of associate producer Portia Tomlinson.

Really Hot! uses some familiar elements of romance--a heroine who had only one other lover, was burned by him, and vows not to trust anyone--but LaBrecque breathes new life into the characters. Portia could have been a stereotype, but she's not. She's a multidimensional woman.

Rourke is the perfect man for her. Down to earth yet charming, he's single-minded in his interest in Portia. I enjoyed reading about both characters.

This is the book I'm giving away in this week's contest. Just post a comment between April 12 and April 17, and you'll be entered in the contest. (Limit one entry per person.)

Alyssa