Product Description

Hank Mallone knows he's in trouble when Maggie Toone agrees to pretend to be his wife in order to improve his rogue's reputation. Will his harebrained scheme to get a bank loan for his business backfire once Maggie arrives in his small Vermont town and lets the gossips take a look?

Maggie never expected her employer to be drop-dead handsome, but she's too intrigued by his offer to say no . . . and too eager to escape a life that made her feel trapped. The deal is strictly business, both agree, until Hank turns out to be every fantasy she ever had.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41925 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Released on: 2007-10-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060598884
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author

Bestselling author Janet Evanovich is the winner of the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award and multiple Romantic Times awards, including Lifetime Achievement. She is also a longstanding member of RWA.

From AudioFile
Hank Malone, small-town-Vermont Òbad boy,Ó hires New Jersey would-be author Maggie Toone to pretend to be his wife to improve his image so that he can get a business bank loan for his apple orchard. Of course, the inevitable happens, and Hank and Maggie fall in love. C.J. Critt plunges into the frothy romance with gusto, keeping the tempo fast and the interplay between the main characters sexy, rapid-fire, and funny. A plus is CrittÕs portrayal of a feisty, gun-toting housekeeper, who keeps the action on its toes. Fans of EvanovichÕs Stephanie Plum series should not expect a mystery here. But for light listening pleasure, this fits the bill. M.T.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

New Jersey Meets Vermont
Hank Malone was the town bad boy. He's returned to take up his inheritance - an apple orchard in Vermont. He has plans to turn it into a serious organic business, but in the town's eyes, he's still the same troublemaking stud he used to be, and the bank won't take him seriously for a loan. To change his image, he decides to hire a wife for six months, to give the illusion of stability and hopefull get the business loan. He hires Maggie Toone in New Jersey and brings her to his farm. She's eager to escape her small town life and job as a teacher, and relishes the chance to fulfill her dream of writing a book based upon her aunt's diaries. One small problem - her aunt was the local madam.

This is a very funny and witty book. Hank and Maggie's relationship is romantic and sexy. The dialogue is classic Evanovich - she easily writes in the rhythm of natural speech so the reader feels as though he/she could step right into the conversation. Hank falls in love with Maggie right off the bat and plots to make their marriage a real one; she is not so sure that she wants to be stuck in another small town. Elsie Hawkins, a reoccuring character in Ms. Evanovich's romances, is present here as a temporary housekeeper. She is the prototype of the Grandma Mazur character of the Stephanie Plum series - a feisty, blunt-speaking senior who drives a '57 Cadillac, packs a gun, and is in serious pursuit of the male species (in her age group, they tend to drop dead unexpectedly so she tries to act quickly).

Hopefully, someday these early Evanovich books will be reissued, but until then, this definitely one used-book worth finding.

Not Real Deep, But Cute
This is a re-release of a book originally published in 1990.

Maggie is a New Jersey girl and a little unconventional; she drives her mom and aunt crazy with her ways. She quits her teaching job in the hopes of writing a book about the family Madame.

Hank was a bad boy growing up and now he is fighting to shake off that reputation. He has returned to his hometown in Vermont and just wants a loan to help with his organic apples. But his father, the bank president, won't give him the loan because he feels he isn't grounded or responsible enough. So Hank hires Maggie to be his fake wife on his Vermont orchard for 6 months, just long enough for her to finish her book and for him to prove his stability.

OK, so this isn't the most emotionally deep or content heavy book on the planet... but it's cute. I hate that word but that is really the one word that popped up in my head over and over while reading... cute.

Longtime Janet Evanovich fans will recognize some similarities between the characters in this book to some of those in the Plum series. Elsie Hawkins is a character in this book as she is in a few of the other early romances written by Ms. Evanovich.

The mystery portion of this book was weak and beyond silly; I think I had it solved as soon as it began, but it does add a few chuckles here and there. This book won't win any literary awards, but I found it enjoyable just the same. Hank and Maggie have some chemical attraction and there are some sexy and sweet moments between them. It helped me pass a gloomy Saturday afternoon curled up on the couch; it was short and sweet and just what I needed.

Good early Evanovich, even tho a nearly plotless love story
I didn't know Janet Evanovich wrote romance stories earlier in her career, but I stumbled across this title and couldn't resist seeing how she did before she got famous with her Stephanie Plum bounty hunter series. The good news is: Janet is just as funny and whimsical here as are her better known recent works. The bad news is, the plot synopsis can be stated in about 20 words: man hires woman to pose as wife, they immediately fall insanely in love, and will they stay together after the gig?? Bet you can guess! Between the heated blood coursing through their veins at every touch, to -- well you get the drift. I guess that's why they call these bodice rippers! For a nice easy read, no mental stress, little doubt about the story line, and some heart warming (I guess) relationship study (with no explicit sex), coupled with that great Evanovich sense of humor, give it a try. Supposedly she did a few others for Loveswept, but I'll take my chances on missing those.