BODY HEAT – Susan Fox
Brava
ISBN: 978-0-7582-7480-9
December 2012
Contemporary Romance

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Present Day

Accountant Maura Mahoney's job at Cherry Lane Senior Residential Facility is hectic right now with the recent departure of the manager and the human resources director out on maternity leave, so everything that needs to be taken care of lands in her lap. This includes supervising Jesse Blue, who has been assigned to community service work at the facility. Maura has spent most of her life playing it “safe” with men, but Jesse's bad boy looks suddenly has her motor revved up. Since he is assigned to work the garden area that sits outside her window, Maura can't help but get plenty of views of Jesse at work. Oh, my . The man is hot, and soon she's having erotic fantasies starring Jesse. But Maura was raised to act conservative, and getting involved with a man who has a criminal past isn't the right way to act.

Jesse admits to the crime, but would do it again if he had to because letting a man harm a woman is not something he could ignore. Maura is clearly uptight and afraid of letting her hair down (well, not in his presence anyway), so why is he still attracted to her? She's way out of his league and has made it clear that having a fling with him would be totally wrong. He should just forget about her, but when she's the star of his sexual fantasies, it's hard to forget her. Maybe he should convince Maura it's time to take a walk on the wild side…with him.

Maura was raised by her aunt and uncle after the untimely death of her parents and will do just about anything to not disappoint them. But now that she's thirty, she's begun to feel restless, wondering exactly what the rest of her life will be like. Getting involved with Jesse is like a forbidden fruit and one that she mightily resists taking a bite out of. Right now she's overworked and left in charge, so has little free time on her hands. She wants the open manager's job and thinks she must do the right thing by not giving in to her lust for Jesse. Yet it doesn't stop her sexy dreams about him. Jesse soon proves indispensable around Cherry Lane and many of the residents adore him. As Maura gets to know Jesse, the more she grows attracted to him. But to give in to him means losing control of her emotions, something the staid Maura just can't do.

Bad boys have been around in romance novels for years, and Susan Fox's BODY HEAT reminds us why readers love them. While Jesse might appear dangerous on the outside, inside he's worthy hero material any woman would want on her side. Much of BODY HEAT has Maura and Jesse sexually apart, but living large in each other's fantasies and dreams. The smoldering sensuality between them sizzles when they face off and give each other reasons why they wouldn't be a good match. But love—and lust—can't keep them apart. If you enjoy bad boys as much as I do, then you'll love BODY HEAT as the kind of romantic tale with steamy sex scenes and a happily-ever-after that you can snuggle down with on a cold winter night.

Patti Fischer