BAM Challenge - Heart

I seem to be making a habit of posting my reviews on the last day of the month, aren't I?

Title: Hot
Author: Julia Harper
Genre: Romance
Age level: Adult

Summary:
First, Julia is a friend of mine. Second, other than the fact I could see Julia's sense of humor shining through, our friendship had no bearing on my enjoyment of this book.

When Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dumber, aka SpongeBob and Yoda, decide to rob the First Wisconsin Bank of Winosha, Turner Hastings takes the opportunity to do a little thieving of her own. She knows the bank president is crooked and will go to any length to restore the good name of her uncle who had been framed for embezzlement.

FBI agent John MacKinnon always gets his man, or woman. Seeing Turner smile at the security camera after pilfering papers from the bank president's safe deposit box stirs his professional, and other, interest.

There were a lot of things I loved about this novel. I enjoyed the banter between Mac and Turner as they talked on cell phones during Mac's search for her. Also, they were older, well, Mac was. It's been a while since I'd read a romance where the hero was in his forties. And he wasn't one of those eternal frat boys who had a sudden revelation that he needed a serious relationship. We got to see a side of his character other than romantic leading man with the resumption of his relationship with his sixteen-year-old daughter. Then there was SpongeBob and Yoda: great comic foils! There was a ton going on in this story and Julia pulled it all together into a sweet, mature, and fun romance.

BAM Challenge - Time

Yeah...kind of ran out of time on my own challenge. I'm a good book group leader, aren't I? The book I wanted to do is still sitting unfinished in the pile of books I brought back from Midwinter. However! I did gobble down a historical romance that I got as an Advance Reader Edition in Philly.

Title: Where the Heart Leads
Author: Stephanie Laurens
Genre: Romance
Age level: Adult

Summary:
I've been a fan of Laurens' Cynster series since the second book when I was looking for new-to-me authors. The cover quotes referencing Catherine Coulter and Amanda Quick, two of my favorite authors at the time, caught my eye. Realizing I had a "second in a series" in my hand, I immediately sought out the first so I could read them in order. Devil's Bride hooked me like the crack *good* romance novels can be. I've stayed with the series through it's highs (Devil's Bride, A Secret Love) and lows (A Rogue's Proposal, which wasn't really all *that* low).

Why this build up? Well, Where the Heart Leads is the first book in a proposed spin-off series featuring Barnaby Adair who is a post-Regency aristocratic private investigator. He's made appearances in the last three Cynster related books as an important secondary character. Along with his three best friends, all proteges of the original Cynsters, he's never believed he'd get married. Barnaby's reasoning is much more sound as he's a third son of an earl and doesn't believe a woman would want to put up with his avocation. Penelope Ashford also feels a unique calling among the ton: getting her hands dirty with the running of a foundling home rather than leaving it to managers.

I savored the way Laurens built the story around these two reluctant lovers. I've enjoyed the development of Barnaby's character in the last few books, and he really stepped up to the plate as a leading man. Penelope is also an intriguing character because she's intelligent, stands her ground when she can support herself, but is willing to concede the field when it's more prudent to do so. Laurens' depictions of East End London in the 1830's create a rich background setting to the story and is a nice alternative to strictly showing life among the ton.

At this point in a series, some fresh twist is needed to keep it alive and Laurens has delivered the goods. I wouldn't say Where the Heart Leads is at the same level as Devil's Bride and A Secret Love, but it is a satisfyingly strong start to Barnaby and Penelope's future adventures together.