Review: Nothing But Fun
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 16, 2010
As an exorcist working for Karmic Consultants, Luis Rodriguez takes his job very seriously. As a completely hot, sexy, tattooed bad boy (by appearance only), most of the female population most assuredly doesn't. All they want is to get him into bed - even if they have to get their daughters demon possessed for Rodriguez to make a house call. He's no one's gigolo, though, and the thought of Botoxed socialites clamoring for a quick roll in the hay - with their possessed teenagers in the damn room - not only turns his stomach, it infuriates him. That's why he barges into his boss's office and puts his foot down, not realizing Karma is otherwise engaged. But when he sees who Karma's talking to, Rodriguez's temper flares again. She's pretty, appears vapid, and entirely too happy about life in general to be real.Brittany Hylton-VanDeere - no relation to THAT Hilton - may be a bit of a spaz and may be perpetually optimistic, but she's got good reason to be. She doesn't have any secretarial job experience, but she just knows that working for Karmic Consultants is The Job, because they Believe, and Believing is important to Brittany. So, too, is the sudden urge to lick the brooding, dark, and gorgeous Rodriguez. When Karma offers her the job on a trial based on a brilliant sequence of lucky events just as she was about to be shown the door, however, Brittany realizes that she can't let her lust risk The One - the perfect job in the perfect place with the perfect people.Doing her job puts her in danger, however, when a corporeal demon confronts her and gives him her name, allowing him to track her anywhere. When she spills the story to Karma and her boss calls Rodriguez in to consult on the issue, Brittany becomes burdened with one utterly sexy and totally captivating exorcist watchdog who will keep her safe from demons. Rodriguez slowly realizes that he'd judged the decidedly odd and uber-chippy Brittany a little too harshly on first impression alone, and soon he can't seem to take his eyes off her, taken by equal measures of fascination and lust. Maybe she needs protecting from a demon, but without a doubt, the quirky, adorable, perpetually happy Brittany may just end up needing even more protecting from her protector.I don't know what it is about this series that just tickles me, but after being thrilled withThe Ghost ExterminatorI quickly snatched upThe Ghost Shrink, The Accidental Gigolo & The Poltergeist Accountantand The Sexorcist. My preference lies heavily on the full length novels, but the world and mythos Andrews has created here for this series is fabulous and they're told with a light, tongue-in-cheek romp air that is quickly addictive. I love the breezy style in these light romances. The characters are quirky and charming, hot and sexy, and quite three dimensional, which is actually a bit of a surprise for this obviously lighthearted series that manages to not take itself too seriously as it dishes out a heady helping of hilarity.Andrews is really outdoing herself, and while I do wish there'd been a bit more paranormal goings on in this book - there was decidedly more in the previous novel and beginning novella, I can't help but be totally enchanted by what is a romance that delved a bit deeper than I was expecting, lightly touching on issues of class and race while doling out dashes around broken water pipes and melting umbrellas. Mischief demons have never had it so good as to be featured in Andrews' series!I really did adore this book, and not just because of the style, characters, story, and series, but also because it was exactly the light, fun read I was needing after a couple of darker books. There's little better than the perfect story read at the perfect time to make the entire reading experience...well, perfect. The few minor issues I had didn't detract from my overall enjoyment, and the only one worth mentioning at all is there were a handful of moments where Brittany's wide-eyed enthusiasm wore on my nerves a little. That's not a critique of the story, I just tend to be fonder of characters like Jo from The Ghost Exterminator, the tougher nuts with a bent towards sarcasm. I enjoyed myself too much while reading, though, to bother feeling particularly critical. Andrews just keeps getting better and better, and I can't wait for the next one! 4.5 Stars.Originally reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.