The Greek's Christmas Baby by Lucy Monroe

You know, I really liked this book. Despite the typical Presents title and cover, The Greek's Christmas Baby is a rather good, emotional story.

So what happens when young woman gets swept off her feet by Greek tycoon and then learns she's pregnant with his child? Well, he immediately marries her and whisks her off to his Greek island. Greek alpha male now has beautiful, good-in-bed, complacent wife to come home to after globe-trotting for work. Now what on earth could go wrong? Add in beautiful Greek personal assistant who wants Greek tycoon for herself and hates beautiful wife. Beautiful wife sees what Greek PA is up to and tries to tell her husband, who brushes her off (as he's a guy and couldn't possibly have had bad taste in PAs and PA is family friend, blah blah blah). Enter in car trip where wife tells Greek alpha husband that things are not working out and that she wants a divorce. Greek husband is shocked and in that moment they're hit by another vehicle. Talk about drama!

Did I mention beautiful wife is pregnant with their second child? Story starts off in the hospital where Eden (wife) is on bed rest to prevent a miscarriage. Aristide (husband) is in a coma. When Aristide awakes, he's suffered a loss of memory - specifically, he has no recollection of Eden. Kassandra (his personal assistant) uses this to further her own goals and paints Eden as an opportunistic whore who trapped Aristide into marriage.

Well, things go on from there. It's all full of drama and that drama works. Kassandra knows how to twist the truth perfectly and since she's know Aristide for ages, he trusts her more than a woman he doesn't remember. I think I liked this story so much because the alpha male here (Aristide) really gets punished for his alpha-tendencies. His inability to believe he could be wrong about Kassandra causes lots of tension and Eden has every right to be hurt. There are plenty of misunderstandings here, but I felt that many of them were valid. And as much as Aristide is definitely an alpha hero, he's also just as much a real guy with all the foibles of men we know and love. Like, oh, taking things for granted (no, Nick, I don't mean you specifically) and thinking the romance isn't needed once the ring is on.

Suffice to say, I just really liked this book. I don't read many Harlequin Presents, but I think I will definitely continue to at least buy Lucy Monroe's. She may often have heroes that I want to shake some sense into (not here, actually, though) and virgin heroines, but she does pack a lot of emotion in her stories. So if you're in the mood for a Christmasy story that won't take too long to read, I recommend picking this one up. I'm glad I did.

The Pregnancy Test by Erin McCarthy

Ordinarily, I’m a fan of pink—lovely color, does smashing things for the complexion. But not when it’s the bright, glaring stripe staring back at me on the pregnancy test. Then, pink is the color of major oops, of morning sickness, of boyfriends who seemed decent but now are part of some Jerk Witness Protection Program.

Still, I’ve got a few things going for me—bitter humor, a divine right to eat till I’m the size of Marlon Brando, and good friends who’ve managed to get me a job interview with one Damien Sharpton: in need of a personal assistant, and some say, a good, swift kick in the arse. If you want to make a lasting impression, by all means, toss your cookies in your future boss’s wastebasket, which is located directly between his excruciatingly sexy legs.

Apparently, Mr. Gorgeous-But-Unbearably-Anti-Social must like personal assistants who violate their trashcans, because I got the job. And if I can avoid him via text messaging for the next nine months of free health insurance, everything will be just fine. Except that he’s just asked—no, insisted—that I go with him on a business trip to the Caribbean. Gulp. Ordinarily, this would be cause for celebration. Ordinarily, I’d shave my legs, pack my bikini, revel in day-glo drinks and my seething lust for Mr. Swarthy-And-Secretive. But there’s nothing ordinary about this situation…which means it could be absolutely extraordinary…


I really loved this book. Which was surprising since it does deal with pregnancy, something I usually avoid like the plague. Mandy is just such a wonderful character. I loved how she didn't really feel sorry for herself and her unexpected pregnancy. She just did what she had to do and got a job to support herself. Damien...I just loved him. The way he adores Mandy and his actions when learning she was pregnant... Well, you just need to read it for yourself. Lots of laughs (this is Erin McCarthy, after all), but also lots of characters with common sense. There were times when I cringed thinking some stereotypical bad-romance things would happen, but they were usually turned on their head and left me surprised. I loved it. So...go out and read Erin McCarthy's The Pregnancy Test! And the cover looks much better than the online scan...

Now..I just hope my mind isn't trying to tell me something with all these books with kids and pregnancy. *grin* Nah, I doubt it. Next up - The Greek's Christmas Baby!

November 2005 Books Read

November was a very good month. Even despite a few times of book blah-ness, I seem to have forged ahead since I read quite a few books. I've linked the titles to blog reviews (if I did one).

Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen
Mew is for Murder by Clea Simon - cute cozy cat mystery
Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson
The Wizard of London by Mercedes Lackey
Ghosts in the Snow by Tamara Siler Jones
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
Death Masks by Jim Butcher
Almost Perfect by Julie Ortolon - I really liked this
Threads of Malice by Tamara Siler Jones - just as good as GITS
She's Got the Look by Leslie Kelly
In the Mood by Ellen Fisher
Fever by Kimberly Dean
Just Perfect by Julie Ortolon - really liked this
Twice Upon a Roadtrip by Shannon Stacey
Kiss Me, Annabel by Eloisa James
One Little Sin by Liz Carlyle
Two Little Lies by Liz Carlyle
Montana Secrets by Kay Stockham
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Hunter, Healer by Lilith Saintcrow
Scarlet Woman by Shelley Munro
The Pregnancy Test by Erin McCarthy
You Only Love Twice by Lori Wilde

Oh dear, seems I was pretty remiss in writing reviews of the books I read. Oops. I actually liked all of them. Finished the last two just last night.