Review: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2013
Eve Doucette has worked hard to get where she is. She's the project manager for the new City Hall building in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and being a skilled draftsman, she's drawn up a preliminary set of blueprints. But Bob Anderson, the city mayor, megalomaniac, and master manipulator gives the job of designer to his architect nephew Matt Brison.Matt and Eve's first meeting is hilarious, and Matt's ego is slightly bruised when Eve fails to be impressed by his rock-star status in the design world.  While she is secretly impressed by his talent, she's not a fan of his too-modern designs that have no place among the city's historical buildings.There's an instant attraction between Matt and Eve, but because of a disastrous marriage five years earlier, Eve does her best to ignore her feelings. She has no time for men or relationships, preferring to put all of her energies into her career. She's of the opinion that men hide their true selves behind charming facades that quickly crumble once they're comfortable in a relationship.  And Eve is far from Matt's ideal woman, he prefers someone who`d look good in an evening gown, a piece of arm candy he can show off at dinners and events.When Eve's past comes back to bite her on the behind, Matt appoints himself as her protector, something Eve doesn't think she needs. Having three older brothers, who used her as shark bait when she was a child, Eve feels she can look after herself, but when events take a sinister turn, she reluctantly admits that perhaps a little looking after wouldn't hurt.The romance and intimacy builds slowly with lots of lovely tension, and this gives Matt and Eve the chance to get to know each other warts and all.Overall, a funny read with a happy-ever-after that will warm your heart.(There are so many potential spin-offs featuring the Doucette family, *coughs* Royal Canadian Mounted Police.)