Alison Kent
Kent, Alison - BADGE AND THE BABY, THE (HT 741) (4+)
Detective Joel "The Big Bad Wolf" Wolfsley is many things to
many people, but first and foremost he's a cop. If he's also gained a reputation for being a loner, it's because he decided long ago to stay single and emotionally unattached due to the risks involved in his chosen line of work. The more tender side of his nature is easily indulged by visiting his large and loving family. All in all, the "Wolf" likes his life just the way it is and he isn't looking to change a thing.
Willa Grace Darling has her own reasons for staying single, and if her life is a bit bleak at times, her fulfilling work helps to keep the loneliness at bay. She has successfully turned an inherent need to love and nurture toward the dogs she rescues and boards, which are kenneled behind her house. Well aware of the dangerous looking guy next door, and assuming he's single because she's never seen signs of a wife or family, Willa has been careful to avoid getting to know him in the year they've been neighbors.
That situation quickly changes, however, when Joel arrives at Willa's door one day, leaning on a cane with his leg in a cast and juggling an adorable baby over one arm. It seems the "Wolf" had bitten off more than he could chew when he'd given in to his sister's plea for baby-sitting help. What was to have been a few hours turned into a few days, and Joel is in over his head...big time. It doesn't take much to convince our heroine to give the guy a neighborly hand, but underneath the lighthearted, teasing banter and shameless flirting, they both feel something elemental and hot arc between them. And so, with sparks flying, they begin a journey that neither one of them really wants but both desperately need.
Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a sensual roller-coaster ride! Although the plot is hardly unique, especially in the shorter series format, Alison Kent's use of witty (and sometimes gritty) dialogue, and stunning sensuality combines with a believable story line to make this book nearly impossible to put down. THE BADGE AND THE BABY is a "curl your toes" winner that you definitely won't want to miss. "The Big Bad Wolf" gets my vote for dream hero of the year. ~Connie Ramsdell for Bookbug on the Web
Kent, Alison - FOUR MEN AND A LADY (HT 750) (5)
You know about high-school reunions: the old cliques, the whispers, unfinished business and still-broken hearts. In FOUR MEN AND A LADY, Alison Kent has captured all the bittersweet nuances of a high-school reunion and related them so perfectly that it almost hurts to read this book. FOUR MEN AND A LADY isn't just about a reunion, however; it offers so much more.
Heidi Malone hated high school, but loved her saxophone because music took her away from the twisted wreck of her home life on the wrong side of the river. Her four best friends—Ben, Randy, Quentin, and Jack—loved music, too. They were the "deck" and she was the "joker," the self-styled fool who never let anyone see the pain beneath the careless exterior. Only Ben, scion of the wealthy Tannens, knew what her life was really like; and despite his admiration and attraction to her, her shame kept them apart. Then on the last day of school, Ben made the only gesture he could make—he offered to pay for her college education. Heidi's pride crumbled; she took the check and walked away, but not before she slashed Ben's face with a bike chain in her anger and humiliation.
Fifteen years later, Heidi Malone is a poised, successful lawyer, who decides to face her painful past and all its regrets with a brief appearance at her high-school reunion. Ben, who has lived all these years with a scarred cheek and the memory of Heidi's anger, is determined to attend the reunion and set things right between them. She owes him that. But all they have is a weekend to relive their memories and heal old wounds, and they soon realize there is more than one issue left to settle—the smoldering sexual attraction they denied in high school is still there.
Alison Kent has created five unique, real people you will swear you knew in high school. She gets it all right; from the skillfully done flashbacks, and the completely natural and humorous dialogue between friends, to the emotionally charged passion between Ben and Heidi. FOUR MEN AND A LADY is a romantic masterpiece and a trip down memory lane that will have you laughing and shedding a few tears. Don't miss one of the best books of 1999! ~Anne Kirby for Bookbug on the Web
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