Certified Male (Harlequin Blaze) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kristin Hardy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

...serious, sweet, funny, hot, and thoroughly entertaining... -- Romance Reviews Today

Before you head poolside or to the beach, make sure you grab a copy of CERTIFIED MALE. -- The Romance Reader's Connection

In CERTIFIED MALE, Kristin Hardy has another sexy winner. -- RT Bookclub (4 1/2 stars)

From the Author

I’m a firm believer that you’ve got to try new things in order to stay fresh, both as a person and (for me) as a writer. Gwen’s book marks my first dip into romantic mystery/suspense. I’ve watched other people do it for a long time and was itching to try my hand at the genre. I’m an avid mystery reader, so building a suspenseful story of my own was a fun challenge -- layering in the mystery and suspense while keeping the focus on the emotional development and the trademark Blaze heat took some doing, but in the end I think it worked.

I hope you’ll stop by my web site and tell me how I did, and whether you’d like to see more books of this type from me in future. Look for the story of Gwen’s sister Joss coming in August. And don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about Sex & the Supper Club -- look for the stories of Paige, Thea, and Delaney to come in the summer of 2006.

have fun,

Kristin Hardy

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373791917
• ISBN-13: 978-0373791910
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,961,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!, June 15, 2005

By 

Shelly Tavenner (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Certified Male (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)

Gwen Chastain loves her grandfather's stamp store and is thrilled when he leaves on a cruise to try-out retirement. Gwen has always been the serious one in her family for as long as she can remember. While her sister, Joss always loved the attention living in Africa garnered them, Gwen just wanted to be normal. When $4.5 million in rare stamps go missing, along with a new employee, Gwen knows that she has to get them back before her grandfather's clients find out and before he returns. She tracks the thief to Las Vegas and a high stakes Texas Hold'em tournament. Gwen can't chance being recognized and becomes Nina, a sultry blonde up for anything. Meeting sports writer, Del Redmond is both distracting and exciting. But when everything is said and done, has Del fallen for the outrageous Nina or conservative Gwen?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story by Kristin Hardy. Gwen's transformation into Nina is fun, even if Gwen's pep talks to her self become tedious at times. I enjoyed the world of stamp collecting and poker playing. Ms. Hardy gives enough details to be authentic, but not too much that you feel you're studying a text book. The dialogue is snappy and at times, laugh-out-loud funny. Del and Gwen are a wonderful match and the scrapes they find themselves in is great and the bedrooms scenes are hot, hot, hot! I can't wait for Joss' story, U.S. Male, to hit the stands in August. This is a must read for the summer!

***Please check out www.allromancewriters.com for more reviews!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine action-packed romance, June 14, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Certified Male (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)

In San Francisco, someone steals valuable stamps from her grandfather's business while Gwen Chastain was on watch. Feeling guilty that she devastated the family business and needing to make amends, Gwen follows the thief to Las Vegas. There she disguises herself as Nina, a gambler, in an effort to recover what was lost.

San Francisco sportswriter Del Redmond is in Vegas covering the World Series of Poker. When he meets Gwen, he can immediately tell she is not a cark shark. Curious over the masquerade and liking her he feels he pulled the ace of spades to complete a royal straight flush, but also wants to know what she is hiding from him.

Poker will never look the same after reading this heated contemporary romance. The story line is fun to follow as Gwen tries to stay in sexy card sharp character (when she is more a homebody) to catch a thief while Del wants her in the buff not bluffing so he raises the ante with their relationship being the stakes. Though grandpa's investment reputation being shattered and distrusted as reasons to not call the cops seems wrong (maybe that is my ignorance) CERTIFIED MALE is a fine action-packed romance.

Harriet Klausner