Review: Steamy & Melodramatic Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 30, 2013
I was at first drawn to this book for the superficial reason of the heroine having the same name as me.  By reading it though I found an entertaining and super steamy read, realistic in its depictions of romance for a single mother trying to juggle many roles and the ups and downs of a supportive group of friends.  This story took us from the exotic locations visited during a cruise to the homey feeling of small town America and how that affects a woman's actions in the dance of love.Jody is still recovering from a divorce and the belief that she's frigid.  Her friends take her on a cruise to relax, put the past behind her, and enjoy her newly-single status.  A flying shoe leads to a life altering encounter with the charmingly seductive writer Taggart that has her channeling her inner vixen in an unexpectedly spontaneous relationship that will end in a week.  Their week together is like a fantasy with its numerous scorching sexual encounters and non-stop romantic words that every woman longs to hear.  Jody's not normally the type to act so wantonly but knowing things will end soon have her diving into everything Taggart offers wholeheartedly.  She's shocked when they both admit to feeling more but with such different lifestyles she doesn't see a future for them.  Taggart's not like any man she's met before though and is surprised to find him on her doorstep trying to make a permanent place in her life until his possessive agent gets in the way.  Jody is an average woman trying to juggle the roles of mother, daughter, and bread earner which leaves little time to be a sexual creature.  Almost every sexual interlude therefore had a frantic feel to it as their relationship always seemed to be ticking away.  Jody's a loyal friend as well as was seen in the many secondary plot lines revolving around her girlfriend's trials and tribulations.  These scenes were realistic but felt a bit intrusive at times and took away from the romance between her and Taggart.  I admired Jody and her striving to be independent, she's a modern-day woman and I was rooting for her HEA every step of the way.Taggart is the kind of man every woman wants to meet!  He's sexy, charming, rich, and says every romantic word a woman wants to hear.  He sweeps Jody off her feet in a whirlwind of sex, seduction, and empowering compliments.  He also doesn't take no for an answer and even though he and Jody live very different lives he wants a life with her and will do whatever necessary to claim her.  Taggart's great with her friends and easily ingratiates himself with them as well as her son.  On almost every level he's perfect, except when it comes to his relationship with his overly possessive agent Felicity.  Her antics are over-the-top in her dealings with Jody as jealousy has her accusing and threatening Jody, and ultimately Taggart, at every turn.  Taggart's excuses for her and tendency to forgive because of their complicated past left me a bit disillusioned and frustrated by him.  Even though these issues are ultimately dealt with in a quickly glossed over finale it left his image a bit tarnished in my eyes.From start to finish Ms. Deveaux has created a story that nicely blends reality with a scorching hot fantasy-like romance.  With its likable heroine and her supportive group of friends there's a feeling of girl power permeating the story as they protect each other at every turn.  The hero is almost perfect and left me swooning numerous times throughout the story.  Though certain aspects of the story felt like a Lifetime movie in the melodramatic and over-the-top reactions, I still found much to enjoy between the pages.  Fans of hot romance and soap opera action will find this appealing too and have me looking forward to reading more from this author.