Review: For the Love of Pete

Title: For the Love of Pete
Author: Julia Harper
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: January 2009
Contemporary Romance Challenge

Everyone knows the unwritten law that if you shovel the snow from a parking space and mark off the spot, that's your space. Everyone that is but Dante Torelli. This is what Zoey Addler discovers when she gets home and catches "Lips of Sin" her sexy neighbor taking her spot. She doesn't know his name, hence the Lips nickname. Before she can finish giving him hell for taking her spot a man runs from the apartment building with a baby. But it's not just any baby, it's Pete, Zoey's niece. And the man isn't just any man, he's a kidnapper. Before Dante realizes it he's in a car chase with his crazy neighbor as his passenger.

For the Love of Pete follows Dante and Zoey on the road trip of a lifetime as they try to get Pete back. Along the way they meet up with some colorful characters in the form of Savita Gupta and Pratima Gupta. The involvement of these ladies gives the chase a dash of comedy along with a bit of surrealism. After reading Harper's HOT and enjoying it I was looking forward to reading For the Love of Pete and was not disappointed. All the same elements that I liked in HOT are in FtLoP.

Zoey Addler is an interesting heroine. She works at a health foods store and also writes poetry. She dresses in her own style, (read: eclectic) and adores her niece. Zoey doesn't have any kids of her own but she helped her sister raise Pete and loves her very much. So when Pete is kidnapped Zoey's reaction is to go after her. She doesn't know at the time that Dante is an FBI agent, he just happens to have a car handy. As they move through the twists and turns of tracking Pete, Zoey gets to know Dante beyond his gorgeous looks and designer suits. He's certainly not what she would consider her type, she more into the artisan types, but this isn't exactly a first date situation. What Zoey realizes is that Dante, for all his class and style is a genuinely nice guy. Add that to his Lips of Sin and you've got a combination that's hard to resist.

Dante Torelli first showed up in the book HOT. He was a secondary character that was given enough page time to grab my interest. In FtLoP he takes center stage and shows that he did deserve a book of his own. If Zoey is a free spirit, child of the earth then Dante is an uptight, lover of rules and regulations. Actually he's not that bad. He just has a different way of unwinding and takes his job very seriously. He comes from a background of privilege and does enjoy having the finer things in life. Like his beautiful BMW that he and Zoey take on a wild ride.

Zoey and Dante are indeed a case of opposites attract. With Dante being the straight arrow, by the book FBI agent and Zoey, well being Zoey. She's more of a by-the-seat-of-her-pants thinker. Which only means that they tend to clash at times but in the end give each other the balance they need. In relationships, the ones that seem to work the best are the ones that have that balance, when the strengths of the heroine and hero compliment each other. That's what happens with Zoey and Dante.

With all this driving around, searching for a kidnapper you'd think that it would be hard for our hero and heroine to find some alone time, to get to know each other better on a more physical level. And you'd be right. The first time they were intimate didn't happen until page 304 of a 375 page book. Did this bother me? Nope. It made sense given the plot of the book. Sure they had opportunities prior but they still had a lot on their minds. It also didn't feel like the right time, they needed to get to know each other better. Once they got to the point where they did have sex it was definitely time. As for that first time I must say umm....well, I was expecting a bit more finesse from Dante. But he turned all uber alpha. But to give him credit he had been in denial for his attraction to Zoey and once he accepted the inevitable he went for it.

For the Love of Pete is another good read from Ms. Harper aka Elizabeth Hoyt. Her secondary characters of the Gupta ladies add flavor to the story mix. And the bad guys keep everyone on their toes. If you want more info on either the contemporary romances writen under the name Julia Harper or the historical romance writen under the name Elizabeth Hoyt you can check out the websites.

Rating: A-

Elizabeth Hoyt ~ News & Free Serial Novella

Updates and news for Elizabeth Hoyt fans of which I'm one ~ love her books!

The second book in her Legend of the Four Soldiers Series, To Seduce a Sinner is due out on the 28th per Amazon but Ms. Hoyt's site says it out now. It's the story of Lord Vale and Melisande Fleming. They were secondary characters in To Taste Tempation, the first book in the series.

The third book in the series is called To Beguile a Beast, due out in May 2009. It's about Sir Alistair Munroe and ???. His heroine hasn't been named yet. Hopefully we'll find out more in To Seduce a Sinner. And the fourth book is To Desire a Devil. No cover yet, release date of November 2009.

Her covers are so beautiful and the stepbacks are even better!

Starting in January Ms. Hoyt will be posting a chapter a month of a novella called The Ice Princess. This is about Coral Smythe, a secondary character from The Raven Prince. Here's the synopsis from her website:

SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN

As the madam of Aphrodite’s Grotto, the most infamous brothel in London, Coral Smythe knows everything possible about men’s needs and desires. Yet she’s never experienced the love of a single man—not even that of Captain Isaac Wargate whose hawk-like eyes stare at her with both condemnation…and lust.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF ECSTASY

Captain Wargate heartily disapproves of the sensuous madam who always wears a golden mask. She lures his officers from both his ship and their duty. But when Coral herself is offered up as the prize in a game of chance, Wargate impulsively enters…and wins.

SEVEN NIGHTS OF LOVE

Now the puritanical navy captain has just seven nights to learn everything he can about the mysterious madam and what she knows of a man’s desires. But when Coral is threatened by the new owner of Aphrodite’s Grotto, will Wargate take a chance on the woman beneath the mask…and on love?

Also for November only, you can order a free preview booklet of the first chapter of The Ice Princess and the first chapter of For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper the contemporary name Ms. Hoyt writes under. Here's my review of HOT, the other Julia Harper book. For the Love of Pete sounds like another fun read. The info for ordering these and subscribing to her newsletter can be found here.

Review: HOT

Title: HOT
Author: Julia Harper
aka Elizabeth Hoyt
Genre: Contemporary Romance

SpongeBob and Yoda walk into a bar...no wait, that's not how it goes. Okay, SpongeBob and Yoda walk into a bank and rob it. These two aren't exactly criminal masterminds, in fact they need help from a customer and a teller just to make it out the door. They do make off with some cash and manage to get away from the police. In the confusing aftermath Turner Hastings decides to commit a theft of her own. She steals the contents of a safe deposit box. Then Turner finds herself on the run from an FBI agent with a sexy voice and compassionate heart.

So starts the book HOT. This book was such a fun read. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I've read Elizabeth Hoyt's historicals and enjoyed them all. The question was could she write contemporary romance just as well? The answer is yes, she most definitely can!

Turner Hastings is a librarian and part-time bank teller. She steals the contents of Calvin Hyman's safety deposit box in an attempt to find evidence of embezzlement and exonerate her uncle who was accused of the crime. Turner is a contradiction in terms. On the outside she is the stereotypical small town librarian with her modest clothes, glasses, hair pinned up and quiet nature. But the real Turner is let loose while trying to stay one step ahead of a certain FBI agent.

Called to the scene of the robbery are FBI Special Agents John MacKinnon and Dante Torelli. John is a veteran agent who is very aware that he is getting older, he's 40. He has concerns regarding keeping up with the younger Torelli. He is also somewhat obsessed about his cholesterol which makes for some amusing internal dialogue. Another thing John becomes obsessed with is Turner. When a hitman is hired to go after Turner, John is determined to keep her safe.

The bank robbers provide comic relief as we get updates on their progress in eluding the law. How they managed to actually make it out of the bank and get away is simply amazing considering how they blunder about in their attempts to keep ahead of the FBI.

HOT was exactly that. Turner and John were apart for quite a bit of the book. When they were together they made the most of their time. John showed that he isn't too old to know exactly how to please a woman. When they weren't together their cell phone conversations got to be quite intense. We learn more about both characters by what is said, and left unsaid, during those conversations.

This was an all around enjoyable read. Great characters, witty dialogue and some laugh out loud moments. Next up for Harper is Dante Torelli's book For the Love of Pete, due out January 2009. You can read an excerpt here. I know I'll be reading Dante and Zoey's story.

Rating: A-