A SEDUCTIVE KISS - Francis Ray
Grayson Friends Series
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 978-0-312-53647-3
February 2012
Contemporary Romance

New York – The Present

As granddaughter to the founder of the fashion house the House of Herrington, and known internationally as ‘The Face' of the business and as its spokeswoman, Dianne Leigh Herrington finds herself contemplating her future. Her grandfather has just died. He was the only person in her family to appreciate and encourage her talents. The company has a new CEO. Her parents have never shown her any love or consideration, and that hasn't changed. She is thirty-two and edging toward a size ten, perhaps making her too old and too fat to continue modeling. Worse, she is single with no prospects of finding someone who truly loves her for who she is. Except for Alex Steward, her best friend's brother, who has always been there to support and protect her, but he only sees her as a friend, and she will not risk that friendship for anything, even a chance at love. If he didn't return her feelings, she would lose him in every way. However, life can change in a flash, and not in a good way. When her world falls apart, will Evelyn prove a survivor who is up to life's challenge, or what her parents have called her—a loser?

Alex Stewart is a high-powered attorney. He has loved Dianne since meeting her when she was five. That love has only grown. He knows her family situation and would do anything for her, but she sees him only as a friend. How can he change that?

Welcome to the world of fashion where talent is used up and cast aside. A SEDUCTIVE KISS starts at a party where Dianne introduces many characters through her reflection on her life. It makes the first chapter a little work to figure out, yet Dianne's situation as a world-famous personality with major family and personal issues materialize as fascinating and challenging. She is an empathetic character: intelligent, committed, and caring, and has been considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her horrid family will ignite the readers' wrath, and her friends' loyalty will make them cheer. A very enjoyable story, A SEDUCTIVE KISS is part of the Grayson Friends series. This reader has not read any previous volumes from that series, but even with all the characters who appear from the other titles, there is no problem following the storyline.

Robin Lee