Review: Wife for a Week

Wife for a Week
Kelly Hunter
Contemporary Romance
Bennett Family/Book 1
Eligible Bachelors/Book 1
Harlequin Presents/August 7, 2007

From Goodreads ~

Nicholas Cooper must produce a wife for his business deal, and Hallie Bennett is beautiful and intelligent enough to pull it off. She needs the money, and Nicholas has determined some strict rules for their week together.

Rule No. 1: Displays of affection in public only

Keeping their hands on each other in public turns out to be surprisingly easy. It's keeping them off in private that's the problem. Hallie is falling for Nicholas, but will Nicholas make his contract wife his real-life bride?

First I have to thank Angela James for tweeting about how much she enjoyed this book. I was curious enough to check out the blurb, which I liked. A quick look at the local library's website showed they had it available as an e-book. Score! I don't read much from the Presents line, I usually stick with either Harlequin's Historical, Blaze or SuperRomance lines. I'm just not into billionaires, Greek tycoons or their secret babies.

Shoe shopping with your mother can be dangerous. It can also tempt fate and give you everything you've been looking for. Nick Cooper finds out the hard way when he walks into the shoe store where Hallie Bennett works. The sparks are there from the beginning and Hallie shows that she's no pushover when it comes to dealing with bossy men. Right from the first scene with Nick and Hallie, I liked these two. You would think with Nick being the boss and the one paying Hallie he would be the one with all the power. Not so. Hallie is very good at maneuvering situations for the optimal outcome. She doesn't always get it right the first time but her heart is in the right place. This is something that Nick comes to learn and love about Hallie.

Their business relationship takes them to Hong Kong. I was surprised at how much detail Ms. Hunter was able to included in such a short format. I've never been to Hong Kong but certainly had a feel for the city by the end of the book. There is action and passion as Nick and Hallie pretend to be a loving couple. The lines become blurred when the rules are broken and Nick and Hallie do more than pretend. The plot sounds like one you've probably read before and the outcome is obvious but the way Hunter wrote it, I didn't care that it was predictable. It was pure escapism in the very best way!

The romance is sweet and funny. The secondary characters add to the story without taking the spotlight from the hero and heroine. The dialogue is witty and the pacing is spot on with a rich story packed into this short format. Definitely worth reading.

Rating: A

Books in the Bennett Family Series ~

Wife for a Week
Bedded for Diamonds
The Maverick's Greek Island Mistress
Untameable Rogue
Red-Hot Renegade