Isabel Sharpe ~~ 4 1/2 and 5 Star Reviews
Feels So Right
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Physical therapist Demi Anderson never gets involved with her clients because it’s ethically wrong, but Colin Russo tempts her like no one else ever has. He once competed in Iron Man triathlons, but his accident means he’ll never be able to compete at that level again. When Demi told him this, he stopped coming to therapy, but now he’s back, and she’ll have to fight her attraction all over again.
Colin once had a perfect body, and his perfect girlfriend matched his perfect life. Now he struggles to adjust to his new reality. He’s surprised by his attraction to his physical therapist, but when he sees what seethes underneath her standoffish façade, she becomes impossible to resist. Now he has to figure out how to convince her to indulge.
The shy one of the Come to Your Senses crew gets her story in this sweet tale that ties everyone’s stories in a perfect bow. Isabel Sharpe crafts a wonderful romance with real, empathetic characters. Readers will be sad that they can’t visit these shops in reality.
Heather Nordahl Files
Isabel Sharpe
Harlequin Blaze #704
Mass Market
978-0373797028
****1/2
A few months ago, photographer Jack Shea spotted a beautiful woman practicing yoga alone in the park. He took pictures of her without her knowledge, telling himself that he’d ask her permission later. He had not worked up his nerve to ask when she disappeared. Now he’s found her again, but before he can ask her to be his model, she sees the pictures he took. He must do damage control before she goes away again, this time forever.
From the moment Melissa Weber enters the Come to Your Senses complex of shops, something does not feel right. When she sees the pictures Jack took, she wonders if he’s some kind of creepy stalker guy. He convinces her to pose for a series of pictures, but she does not trust him, courtesy of her boss and mentor, a very bitter woman. Can Melissa and Jack help each other heal from the pains in their past?
Isabel Sharpe’s latest is part of a series, and while it can be read alone, a compelling secondary plot thread runs through the first two books, so readers get the most out of it by reading the whole series. As usual, Ms. Sharpe gives readers complex characters who grow and change throughout this satisfying, sexy and thought-provoking tale.
Heather Nordahl Files
Isabel Sharpe
Harlequin Blaze #676
Mass Market
978‑0373796809
*****
Angela Loukas and her friends have their businesses in the same building, and each involves one of the five senses. Angela's specialty is taste, and her bakery is successful, but her dream is to sell sophisticated European pastries, and her clientele would rather she stick to her delicious cookies and cupcakes. Her ex‑husband created many crises of confidence in her life, and she has decided that confidence is key to her future happiness.
She needs some love in her life, though She's not looking for anything permanent. Her perfect man is Daniel Flynn, a man who comes into her bakery and reluctantly orders white‑on‑white cupcakes when he really wants decadent chocolate. He is still deep in mourning for his dead fiancée, who, on her deathbed, makes him promise to not date until what would have been their wedding day, a date which is still six months away. Angela schemes to help him realize that his Fiancée's request was unreasonable and to give them some pleasure along the way. Neither one expects their feelings to be so strong.
When it comes to series romance, there is no other writer today as good as Isabel Sharpe at writing consistently brilliant, thought‑provoking stories. Her characterization is spot‑on, the conflicts are real, and the secondary characters are rich and relevant without stealing the show. Her characters may resonate best with twenty‑somethings, but readers of all ages will delight in this book.
Heather Nordahl Files
Isabel Sharpe
Harlequin Blaze #606
Mass Market
978‑0373796106
****1/2
Kim Horton is under a world of pressure. She's decided to give up on her Web design business if it's not a success by her thirtieth birthday, and that milestone is rapidly approaching. She knows if her business does take off, she won't have time to date; so she signs up with Milwaukeedates.com and braces herself for trips outside her comfort zone. Her romantic history has been awkward and painful, and her philandering father makes it hard for her to trust men with a playboy history.
Nathan is Kim's brother's friend and her roommate. He's floundering under the pressure of transitioning from student to full‑time member of the work force, and spends a lot of time drinking with his friends. While he does not sound like a promising romantic candidate, he has loved Kim for years and is figuring out how to make his move before she falls in love with someone else.
Brava to Isabel Sharpe for creating a wildly unlikely hero and then making him endearing. Readers will love watching this relationship slowly develop, and the author's wise observations on the mating game only add to this moving and realistic romance.
Heather Nordahl Files
Isabel Sharpe
Harlequin Blaze #619
Mass Market
978‑0373796236
****1/2
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Darcy Clark's friend Marie is an incorrigible matchmaker, and Darcy is the last holdout in their group of friends. Between a horrible home environment growing up and a series of untrustworthy boyfriends, she has grown bitter about the dating scene and never intends to marry. But a woman has needs, so she can't resist picking up a scorching hot man at a local Lebanese restaurant and burning up the sheets with him at a hotel, no names exchanged. Unfortunately for her, the encounter is simply unforgettable.
Another unfortunate truth is that she cannot avoid seeing him again, for Troy is part of her group of friends which she discovers to her horror. He has his own relationship hang‑ups as well. Getting these two to speak again will take the wily machinations of Marie and her own prospective happy‑ever‑after.
Isabel Sharpe winds up her trilogy with this brilliant and warm reading experience. New readers will enjoy the tale, and those who have followed these characters will love seeing both Darcy and Troy get a happy ending. Wickedly sexy with perfectly alternating points of view, this tale has friends who do awful things to each other in the name of love, but also lovers who make this a real romance for adults as they work through their sometimes daunting hang‑ups.
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Heather Nordahl Files
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by Isabel Sharpe
Harlequin Blaze #539
Mass Market
978-0373795437
*****
Melanie Hawthorne is a wild child like her mother, wasting her time on bad boys. Her best friend Edgar Raymond has always been there, a support and a listening ear through her dramas. He's been in love with her for years without telling her, but now he has to watch her discover his hot brother Stoner, who is temporarily staying with Edgar. Stoner invites her to come to his bed one night, and she eagerly accepts, thinking Edgar is out of town. That night she has the best sex ever. She doesn't know that her passionate night was with Edgar, and it will take some strategy on Edgar's part to convince her to believe and to give him a chance.
Melanie's mother Tricia realizes that she failed as a mother to her two children. Now that they're adults and she's clean and sober, she's hoping to, at least, have a relationship with them, but they're resistant. She thinks she needs some time without a man, but an old friend has come back into her life, and she can't stop thinking about him.
This dual love story is sometimes utterly brilliant. Melanie can be an aggravating character, but Edgar is awesome, and the chapters alternate between Melanie and Tricia in a perfect way.
Heather Nordahl Files
by Isabel Sharpe
Harlequin Blaze
Mass Market
123-123456789
*****
Darcy Wolf has spent a large part of her life taking care of other people. Now shefs determined to have fun, let loose, and celebrate all the little fantasies shefs long left unfulfilled. When the sexy painter working on her house catches her eye, she dares to perform a striptease for him. Delightfully, he reciprocates her attraction most deliciously. But, the next day, her gstrangerh fantasy is shattered when she discovers that her fantasy man is Tyler Houston, someone she knows. Mortified, she flees.
Tyler wants more. Hefs working this painting job now, but he anticipates becoming a professor in the fall. Burned by a longtime girlfriend, hefs not looking for love, but he wants to keep seeing Darcy. She wants to leave Wisconsin behind for the four corners of the country. A relationship could only tie her down. So why is it that fulfilling all her secret fantasies is appealing only if she can do it with Tyler?
This truly fantastic, scorching Blaze features a hero any woman will want to take home. Readers will empathize with Darcy as she struggles with growing pains, and perhaps see a bit of themselves in her meddling best friend.
Heather Nordahl Files
Isabel Sharpe
Harlequin Blaze #595
Mass Market
978‑0373795994
****1/2
Candy Graham was in a long‑term relationship and has been miserable ever since he dumped her. She's hung up on a man whom all her friends can see is not worth her devotion. One friend pushes her to sign up with her dating service. She has a hard time filling out the paperwork, so her friend has her set up four different dating profiles, one for each facet of her personality. None of her dates are anything special, but then she's set up with her next-door neighbor.
Justin Case has just moved to Wisconsin from southern California, and his first real winter is a shock. He has enjoyed watching his neighbor. Meeting her in the flesh is even better. But there's something odd about the whole dating service thing, and his investigative journalist instincts are buzzing. Is Candy doing something unethical?
Isabel Sharpe's latest is a fun story with characters who feel like friends, with all the charm and exasperation inherent in that. Candy's and Justin's somewhat silly names work, and they grow and change in a satisfying way. If it weren't for the obvious framing of this tale as the first book in a series, which makes it harder to stand alone, this would be a five‑star read.
Heather Nordahl Files
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