My One and Only

Rating:
Summary: Sex! Bondage! Feathers! Loins!
Review: "Liquid heat flooded her loins."

Do I have your attention? Valentine's Day might have passed, but it's not too early to harden your resolve to find romance by next year. And why not turn to the people who create the steamy affairs that have kept lonely people turning moist pages for years?

That's right - romance novels.

Katherine O'Neil's ••My One and Only•• is a typical romance novel, complete with the not-so-hot guy on the cover. What other literature genre could inspire "lust in the loins" of the main characters by page 21?

Lust, apparently, is not the only thing to pop up early in the book. Observe:

"As his fingers toyed with her, lust rendered her insensible. Her breath scorched her throat, sounding tumultuous in her ears. Sweet longing gripped her, making her burn with a fever she'd never known."

And doesn't everyone burn with a fever when meeting someone for the first time?

The plot of this book, as with most romance novels, does not need to be summarized. Why bother? O'Neal writes about her characters' affair in the early 1900s. The two have reunited after being kidnapped as children. Now, by some fluke, both are cat burglars. Who cares? The sex is good. The sex is so unbelievably good that the rest of the 325-page book scarcely matters.

Sex is the main theme of My One and Only. It's also the best part.

The first real sex scene occurs about a third of the way through the book. Lead heroine Kitty Fontaine (a virgin, of course) finds herself alone in a plane hangar with primary stud Max Aveli. And before you have a chance to turn the page, "Her scream ripped through the hangar."

You guessed it: Fontaine's not a virgin anymore. And thank goodness, because without that sex, Fontaine never would have found herself in a "misty expanse of some higher consciousness."

My One and Only has a few tips about how to excite the lover you already have:

1. Dancing always works, and it does not matter if you don't know how. ("She felt a simmering in her loins that made her body move of its own accord").

2. People like to be tied up - it's kinky. ("Pinning her to the carpet at the foot of the bed, he snatched up the discarded veil, using it to secure her ankle to the bedpost with swift tugs").

3. Feathers might tickle, but they can also make you VERY happy. "The velvety tip of the feather teased her inner thigh until ripples of longing caused her legs to tremble").

You'd be hard pressed to find any real educational value in My One and Only, but be reassured of one thing (again): The sex is good. Now go get it (some).

Rating:
Summary: Great summer reading
Review: I read this book in a day, it is fast paced and has all the elements required in a romance/mystery. The characters are very likeable!

Rating:
Summary: Decently written but not a comedy & not very romantic
Review: I wish the publishers would stop giving cartoon covers to books which, like this one, aren't really comedies! As a light drama, however, this book is fairly satisfying. The hero is sexy and strong, the heroine appealing and strong, too. However, there is little sexuality. They hardly kiss until about the middle of the book, and when they have their first love scene, it isn't all that hot. The "mystery" isn't all that compelling, either, unfortunately. I think this book is good, but with some more work to turn up the intensity levels, it could have been great.

Rating:
Summary: Great summer reading
Review: Over a decade ago Harrison Montgomery saved Abigail Lee's life when he provided her employment following the murders of her parents. Harrison's kindness enabled Abigail to keep her younger sister Rachel with her and she would do anything for her mentor and his family.

However, the company is in trouble so Abigail turns to an international expert on saving failing businesses for help. She turns to Harrison's alienated illegitimate son Ethan Maddux just prior to the man flying to Prague for a conference. Neither father nor son look upon Abigail's request with favor as they have not spoken in two decades, but she continues her pursuit of saving the business and even more important: a reconciliation between the two. As Ethan and Abigail fall in love, he wonders if she really is his father's paramour, but his doubts don't stop him from needing to keep her safe when her life is threatened.

This is a strong cast especially the dynamic secondary characters. The lead couple is a charming duo as Abigail is an intrepid individual while Ethan occasionally overplays the angst-laden family victim remains a viable delightful protagonist. The story line is fast-paced especially when the suspense of the who-done-it and doing-it kicks into full gear. Fans will enjoy MacKenzie Taylor's debut novel and want a sequel a few years into the future starring the heroine's sister (and a couple of nieces/nephews).

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Exciting contemporary
Review: Over a decade ago Harrison Montgomery saved Abigail Lee's life when he provided her employment following the murders of her parents. Harrison's kindness enabled Abigail to keep her younger sister Rachel with her and she would do anything for her mentor and his family.

However, the company is in trouble so Abigail turns to an international expert on saving failing businesses for help. She turns to Harrison's alienated illegitimate son Ethan Maddux just prior to the man flying to Prague for a conference. Neither father nor son look upon Abigail's request with favor as they have not spoken in two decades, but she continues her pursuit of saving the business and even more important: a reconciliation between the two. As Ethan and Abigail fall in love, he wonders if she really is his father's paramour, but his doubts don't stop him from needing to keep her safe when her life is threatened.

This is a strong cast especially the dynamic secondary characters. The lead couple is a charming duo as Abigail is an intrepid individual while Ethan occasionally overplays the angst-laden family victim remains a viable delightful protagonist. The story line is fast-paced especially when the suspense of the who-done-it and doing-it kicks into full gear. Fans will enjoy MacKenzie Taylor's debut novel and want a sequel a few years into the future starring the heroine's sister (and a couple of nieces/nephews).

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Fast paced? Not.
Review: The writer has a very nice and easy writing style, but for what's supposed to be a romance, it takes an awfully long while for the actual romance to start. I'd read a little more than 100 pages before anything "significant" happened between the hero and heroine, who live in two different cities. If you can get past the first third of the book, which is very heavy with business meetings, talk of a potentially collapsing company, takeovers and the little sister's cooking expertise, there is an interesting little romance subplot tucked deeper in what's basically a whodunnit.