Too Good to Be True

Rating:
Summary: A delightful romantic suspense novel
Review: Billionaire Archie "The Toilet Paper King" Peevers hires private investigator Grady Sullivan allegedly to protect him from his odious money- grubbing relatives including his sons. Grady soon learns that Archie has hired Annie Kendall to pretend she is his lost heir due to her mother coming from an indiscretion with a servant many years ago.

As Grady becomes frustrated with working with a Machiavellian reincarnation, he finds himself very attracted to Annie. However, the Philadelphia security specialist makes it plain he does not like what Archie is doing by placing himself, Annie, and even the sleuth in danger. Grady's prophecy comes true as someone tries to kill Archie. Now it is up to Grady to keep the woman he loves, in spite of her apparent greed, and his client alive from a murderer who appears to be one of the family members or servants.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE is an amusing sequel to the humorous CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU. Grady retains the humor and his edge that he showed in the first book. He remains adorable, outspoken, and yet protective. Annie is his perfect counterpart. Together along with an eccentric cast, they make for an entertaining romantic suspense novel that should return Kasey Michaels to the best-selling lists.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: cute and fluffy
Review: I do like funny romances, and for that alone, I would recommend this one, really for that alone. The romance was light, with little conflict, and even less interest. The 2 main characters, started out well (you'll just love Annie at the beginning), but by the middle they were flat and unmotivated. And the end was so anti-climatic! Everything romantic in this book after the shopping scene (with the possible exception of the carnival) was dull as ditch water.

The saving grace of this book was the minor characters, a druggie-doctor, a lawyer who cheats at golf, a stiff butler, and a whole passle of relatives so coniving they get tangled in the strings from thier own plotting. Over it all sits Archie, the patriarch, and he is so dispicable, you really can't decide whether to love him or loathe him.

Anyway, read it if you have some time to kill, and you want a light, funny book with little to no involvement

Rating:
Summary: cute and fluffy
Review: I do like funny romances, and for that alone, I would recommend this one, really for that alone. The romance was light, with little conflict, and even less interest. The 2 main characters, started out well (you'll just love Annie at the beginning), but by the middle they were flat and unmotivated. And the end was so anti-climatic! Everything romantic in this book after the shopping scene (with the possible exception of the carnival) was dull as ditch water.

The saving grace of this book was the minor characters, a druggie-doctor, a lawyer who cheats at golf, a stiff butler, and a whole passle of relatives so coniving they get tangled in the strings from thier own plotting. Over it all sits Archie, the patriarch, and he is so dispicable, you really can't decide whether to love him or loathe him.

Anyway, read it if you have some time to kill, and you want a light, funny book with little to no involvement

Rating:
Summary: A light-hearted read ...
Review: It is funny and cute beyond words ~~ and a quick read. If you're looking for something is easy on the eyes and brain (meaning you don't have to think deep, probing thoughts), then this book is for you.

It's about a rich and cranky billionaire ~~ the king of toilet paper ~~ who decides to throw his greedy heirs off balance by announcing that he has found a new heir ~~ his long-lost granddaughter, Annie. Grady Sullivan is hired to be Archie's bodyguard, only to fall in love with the sassy granddaughter. And that's just the beginning of the adventures that the Peevers family saga endures. Between a butler who is known to "lift" things from the ugly mansion they all are residing in, a son who hides behind his wife's skirts, a dumb blondshell who giggles through everything ~~ guns, arrows, car crashes and everything that can make a mystery novel work. And of course, the romance between Annie and Grady makes for a happy ending.

It is a cute book ~~ one that you can take to the beach or read on the subway because it doesn't require a lot of thinking. And it is a guarantee that you'll laugh at some parts of the plot. Great book for a light read ~~ though the writing isn't of top quality. Like I said, if you want something light and sassy, then this should do it!

Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER GOOD BOOK!
Review: Kind of an anomaly, don't you think? A guy who reads romances. (Okay, I've read three, and this is the third of them.) Well, this guy picked up the prequel to this book, the outstanding "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" and ran through it in a mere four days. If that was not a taste of things to come, nothing is. I got this book from the local Library on Monday -- and returned it on Tuesday evening, DONE. That's right, I demolished this book -- 377 pages worth -- in about 27 hours. Having been inspired by the other one, probably, I was eager to read about the adventure that Quinn's partner would have in this one. I was right. Although I didn't exactly root for Grady the way I had for Quinn, and didn't see as much of myself in him as I had Quinn, I really liked him, and found that he was just so root-for-able, especially when he leapt to protect Annie when her privacy was violated the way it was, which I found abhorable. Of course, I had to go back and forth a couple times to grasp how Annie was related to the Peeverses, but when I did, it was a shocker that helped me like the book even more. And when Grady got the Peeverses to make the $10-mln donation to the Kidney Foundation in Annie's name and told Annie that HE would take care of his OWN wife, that made me an even bigger fan of his. This was a book that was more grab-ya-by-the scruff-of-the-neck-and-pull-ya-in than the other one was. The other one, I just fell in love with the characters and stayed to the end. This one, I couldn't get away from. GREAT BOOK! I'm really starting to like stuff written by Kasey Michaels.

Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER GOOD BOOK!
Review: Kind of an anomaly, don't you think? A guy who reads romances. (Okay, I've read three, and this is the third of them.) Well, this guy picked up the prequel to this book, the outstanding "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" and ran through it in a mere four days. If that was not a taste of things to come, nothing is. I got this book from the local Library on Monday -- and returned it on Tuesday evening, DONE. That's right, I demolished this book -- 377 pages worth -- in about 27 hours. Having been inspired by the other one, probably, I was eager to read about the adventure that Quinn's partner would have in this one. I was right. Although I didn't exactly root for Grady the way I had for Quinn, and didn't see as much of myself in him as I had Quinn, I really liked him, and found that he was just so root-for-able, especially when he leapt to protect Annie when her privacy was violated the way it was, which I found abhorable. Of course, I had to go back and forth a couple times to grasp how Annie was related to the Peeverses, but when I did, it was a shocker that helped me like the book even more. And when Grady got the Peeverses to make the $10-mln donation to the Kidney Foundation in Annie's name and told Annie that HE would take care of his OWN wife, that made me an even bigger fan of his. This was a book that was more grab-ya-by-the scruff-of-the-neck-and-pull-ya-in than the other one was. The other one, I just fell in love with the characters and stayed to the end. This one, I couldn't get away from. GREAT BOOK! I'm really starting to like stuff written by Kasey Michaels.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific, fun read! Highly recommended
Review: Toilet paper tycoon Archie Peevers of Peevers Mansion just outside of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, doesn't trust his nearest and dearest who may just be out to kill him for his money. So he hires bodyguard Grady Sullivan and formulates a plan. Knowing none of his relatives have the gumption to pull a trigger or slit his throat, Archie assumes someone will try poison, pills, a midnight trip down the stairs.

To keep everyone off kilter, Archie produces the obligatory missing heir. Annie Kimble is beautiful, intelligent, and trouble. Indeed, Annie has been hired to pretend she is his granddaughter from a liaison fifty years ago. Annie's a delightful character who first endured Archie's scare tactics and then a pinch behind before he announced that she's perfect for what he has in mind. Annie has her own agenda: fifty thousand dollars for one month's work of driving Archie's family insane for fun and profit.

As the Machiavellian plot escalates, Grady falls for Annie. So now not only does Grady find himself protecting an eccentric old man, but also a sharp young woman who is filing a 1099 on her proceeds. Events move along quickly as Archie's orange juice is laced with arsenic. Someone fires a crossbow through the window at Archie. As the tension builds, so do the laughs, keeping the reader highly entertained.

The sequel of TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE is a masterpiece of characterizations. This eccentric cast of characters keeps the plot moving along delightfully, keeping the reader guessing. I admit that the butler is my favorite secondary character with his snide observations, shred opinions, and Lurch-like appearance. Indeed, a light, humorous read with a touch of romance, Kasey Michaels has created an entertaining romantic suspense novel too good to miss. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Amusing? Sometimes. Romantic--barely!
Review: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE was an amusing book, on occasion. I loved the Archie and Dickens characters, and the mystery element was actually pretty fair. Unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling it with Grady and Annie as a couple.

For one thing, there's no conflict in their relationship. They just sort of... get together. Also, I found Grady's conversion from playboy to devoted lover inexplicable. He doesn't want anything in this novel (what Annie wants is a mystery until the last chapter), which made his character sort of weak. And finally, there weren't any really juicy love scenes in the book, which disappointed me greatly. I don't necessarily need love scenes in romance, but when the romance is as weak as it was here, I think it's only fair.

I wouldn't recommend reading TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE if you want a hot, tension-filled romance novel (or even an interesting one); nevertheless, it is a pretty good book for a light diversion you can pick up and put down again a dozen times and still not lose the thread of the story.

Rating:
Summary: Amusing? Sometimes. Romantic--barely!
Review: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE was an amusing book, on occasion. I loved the Archie and Dickens characters, and the mystery element was actually pretty fair. Unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling it with Grady and Annie as a couple.

For one thing, there's no conflict in their relationship. They just sort of... get together. Also, I found Grady's conversion from playboy to devoted lover inexplicable. He doesn't want anything in this novel (what Annie wants is a mystery until the last chapter), which made his character sort of weak. And finally, there weren't any really juicy love scenes in the book, which disappointed me greatly. I don't necessarily need love scenes in romance, but when the romance is as weak as it was here, I think it's only fair.

I wouldn't recommend reading TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE if you want a hot, tension-filled romance novel (or even an interesting one); nevertheless, it is a pretty good book for a light diversion you can pick up and put down again a dozen times and still not lose the thread of the story.