I write book reviews, I also write books, and occasionally I write about myself!

Tuesday 29 November 2011

365 books in 365 days Challenge ... book #232



The Talk of Hollywood - Carole Mortimer
Mills & Boon Modern
Harlequin UK, 2012
ISBN: 9780263890297







My rating




From the back cover:

"Lights...
From his latest sports car to his latest blonde, gossip surrounds infamous Hollywood actor and director Jaxon Wilder. Unnamed sources are speculating outrageously about an unknown beauty that Jaxon is determined to get to know... intimately!
Camera...
Except Stazy, infuriatingly, is nothing like Jaxon’s usual conquests... To Jaxon’s disgust she demands an equal stake in his project – they’ll have to work side by side for months!
Bedroom!
Jaxon agrees to a professional partnership... knowing that, however hard Stazy tries to resist, eventually they’ll tantalise the tabloids with a scandalous affair – on and off the red carpet!"



I was looking forward to reading this latest offering from Carole Mortimer, I just love this title! And it's so weird now having to write 2012 for publication date, where did the year go!

The hero Jaxon, a very popular movie actor and director, is planning to make a movie about the heroine Stazy's grandmother, who was a spy many years back. He wants to have Stazy and her grandfather on-board with his plans so that he has agreement as well as being able to find out more information. Stazy is suspicious of Jaxon and feels that he is only interested in sensationalising her grandmother's past. From the moment they meet Jaxon and Stazy butt heads with each other, and disagree on everything. Stazy is even more on edge when her grandfather agrees to help Jaxon on the condition that Stazy works with him while he researches. With her grandfather away leaving the two of them alone together, they soon realise that behind all their antagonism there is a fierce desire for one another. Jaxon begins to fall for Stazy, but is constantly fighting against her emotional barriers, and no matter how close they get she always finds a way to pull away from him.

While this book is quite enjoyable, at times I felt a little confused and bored. Everyone knows that one of the most important elements of romances, and indeed other fiction, is the internal conflict. In this book I couldn't really work out what that conflict was, and the reasons behind the characters behaviour was a little baffling. Stazy, rather than hurt and emotionally stilted as I believe the author was aiming for, just came across of stiff and uptight. Jaxon is a good hero though, the best part of this book in fact.

The blurb is so very misleading that I recommend you DON'T read it, lest you should be confused!

This book is OK, just OK.

Xx

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