Causing Havoc (SBC Fighters, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lori Foster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2008

Orphaned and torn from his sisters as a boy, sexy extreme wrestler Dean "Havoc" Conor gets a letter revealing how much his siblings want him back in Harmony, Kentucky. To stop his sister from marrying a sleazeball, Dean finds himself teaming up with her pretty-but-smart-mouthed friend Eve-who's heard of Havoc's reputation and doesn't need some hunk trampling on her heart. Now all Dean has to do is protect his sisters, win Eve over, and expose a devious criminal. And he thought winning the heavyweight belt was hard.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Orphaned at nine, Dean "Havoc" Conor has grown into a tough-as-nails extreme fighter happy to live a solitary life. When he receives a letter from his two little sisters, who he hasn't seen in the twenty years since their parents died, Dean reluctantly decides to honor their request and return home to Harmony, Ky. Once there, he finds that the aunt who raised his sisters has squandered most of their inheritance and that one of his sisters, Cam, is engaged to a sleaze named Roger. He also meets Cam's best friend, Eve Lavon, an opinionated beauty who already has the commitment-phobic Dean figured out. However, if Dean's going to drive off Roger and figure out why someone in Harmony is trying to kill him, he'll need Eve's help—and he'll have to confront his growing feelings for her. More interesting, though, is Dean's struggle to become the family man his sisters need, a transformation that Foster executes with skill, elevating the tight if typical romance plot with convincing, heartfelt family drama. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Dean "Havoc" Conor, a gorgeous "extreme" fighter, returns to Harmony, Kentucky, in response to a letter from one of his two estranged sisters. Camille needs money to repair their old home so she can sell it and marry a guy Dean dislikes immediately. The younger sister Jacki, 21, is still acting and dressing like a spoiled teenager, but she also has a quick wit and smart mouth, much like Dean himself. Then there's Aunt Lorna, who raised the girls with a heavy and humorless hand and spent their inheritance on herself. While all this is being revealed, Dean becomes smitten with Camille's best friend, Eve, and a fight buddy of his arrives and winds up falling for Jacki and helping put a new roof on the old house. In the end, Camille's fiance is redeemed, Aunt Lorna gets hers, and the guys get their women. Foster supplies good sex and great humor along the way in a thoroughly enjoyable romance reminiscent of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' novels. Mary K. Chelton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425214230
• ISBN-13: 978-0425214237
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lori Foster first published with Harlequin in January 1996. Since those early days, Lori has routinely had 6 to 10 releases a year. Lori is a Waldenbooks, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly and New York Times bestselling author and is published through Berkley/ Jove, Kensington, St. Martins, Harlequin and Silhouette.

In 2001, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times 'Career Achievement Award' for Series Romantic Fantasy.

In 2002, Lori's book Too Much Temptation was the top-selling romance title for Amazon.

In 2003, Say No To Joe was the second 'Bestselling Original Contemporary' romance for Waldenbooks.

In 2004, The Secret Life of Bryan was the 'Bestselling Original Contemporary' romance for the BGI group.

In 2005, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times 'Career Achievement Award' for Contemporary Romance.

In 2006, Jude's Law was the "Bestselling Romantic Comedy" romance title for the BGI group.

In 2007, Lori launched a new "urban fantasy" series under the name L. L. Foster. See more on her "dark side" at www.llfoster.com

In 2007, Causing Havoc was among Amazon's Top Ten Editor's picks in Romance.

In 2008, Hard to Handle made #2 on the New York Times bestseller list.

In 2009, Servant: The Acceptance, L.L. Foster, was named Amazon's Number 1 Editors' Pick in Romance.

Lori visits daily with readers as part of the 'Running With Quills' blog at www.runningwithquills.com and at her busy message board featured on her website www.LoriFoster.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't quite do it for me, March 26, 2007

By 

Avid Reader (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Causing Havoc (SBC Fighters, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really wanted to love this book, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Dean and Eve had sex right away so there was no sexual suspense and no romance. I couldn't figure out why Dean fell in love with Eve by the end of the book. She really wasn't any different than all the other women he had been with.

The Cam and Roger relationship had a bit of an 'ew' factor for me. I couldn't buy into Roger ending up a decent guy. The only relationship I was remotely interested in was Jacki and Gregor's and it got glossed over at the end.

I've liked other books by Lori Foster, but this one missed the mark for me.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Foster's better novels, January 29, 2008

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Causing Havoc (SBC Fighters, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Dean is a champion extreme fighter in the SBC. A letter from his estranged sister has him returning to the hometown he was sent away from 21 years earlier by a maiden aunt who wanted nothing to do with him after his parent's death. He returns with mixed feelings, but soon finds himself falling for the sisters he hasn't seen all these years later. Though he protests being the over protective big brother, he soon fills that role when sister Camille is struggling to put youngest sister Jackie through college and hold on to the family's battered home, while keeping a suitor at arm's length. With the help of some of his SBC buddies, Dean agrees to help fix up the house. A romance blossoms with Cam's best friend Eve, who knows plenty about his sport without being a groupie. Can he forget the past and try small time life?

As always, Foster writes scorching intimate scenes between the Eve and Dean, and provides a couple secondary romances. Though they ooze chemistry, the relationship just didn't seem believable to me. I hate Foster's constant "me Tarzan you Jane and you gonna be in my bed tonight" mentality she assigns her "heroes" the moment that they meet their match. It's so interchangeable that it's just redundant. But having said that, I really found the story to be better than average - she delves into more family background rather than concentrating on her couplings, which is a new territory for her, proving that she can write more than a love scene. The mystery is light, but the interaction between the characters makes this a pretty entertaining read.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Move over Joe Winston...Dean Conor is hot!!!, February 10, 2007

By 

Patti Fischer "pattifischer" (WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Causing Havoc (SBC Fighters, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Dean Conor and his sisters, Jacki and Cam, were split up as children when their parents died years ago. Dean, now a professional fighter, vows to return to his hometown of Harmony and reconnect with his sisters. Jacki and Cam greet him with open arms and he comes to know them and love them all over again. Unfortunately, his return isn't all a grand reunion. Their Aunt Lorna hates him and Cam's almost fiancé Roger distrusts him. But one good thing about the trip is Dean meeting Eve Lavon. It's lust at first sight for them and it doesn't take long before they're in a steamy relationship. But Dean has to contend with his family and other distractions in between his trysts with Eve. Then someone starts sending signals they don't want Dean in town. Who are they...and why?

Causing Havoc is a new story from Lori Foster and this one is immediately going on my list as one of my all time favorite books by this fabulous author. Dean may be a fighter, but he has a heart of gold. He's kind, caring and will do anything to protect the ones he love. Even with his aunt sending him dagger looks and saying rude remarks about him, he puts up with her. The romance between Dean and Eve sizzles with their sparkling chemistry. They're like two matched halves that complete each other. When they dealt with her little *inconvenience*, it made me sniffle.

Also part of the plot of Causing Havoc are secondary romances between Jacki and Gregor, a fighter friend of Dean's; and Cam and Roger's attempts to right their relationship again. All these characters make for a well rounded tale of love, family, honor and making old wrongs right.

If you haven't read a Lori Foster book lately, then I suggest you head on out and pick up Causing Havoc. Dean is a sigh-worthy hero who will have you drooling and linger in your memory for years to come, just like Joe Winston has for many. Move over, Eve, I want Dean.  The words fly across the pages and makes Causing Havoc one fantastically entertaining story. Can you tell I liked it? You bet! And I can't wait for more stories from Harmony.