Customer Reviews

His Comfort and Joy (Moorehouse Legacy) (Silhouette Special Edition, No. 1732)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
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Joy Moorehouse grew up knowing that she probably would never have the things she wants - namely her neighbor,Gray Bennett, and a life of her own designing dresses. When Joy's parents died, her older sister took over the running of the family bread & breakfast, leaving Joy to take over the care of their grandmother, who has dementia. With the family barely holding on, Joy can only yearn for Gray Bennett, a rich, political consultant, who she has loved for years.

Gray, on the other hand, has noticed Joy, but believes she is too innocent, too young for him. Gray has had a pretty terrible family life, with his mother running around with every available man, and sometimes even putting Gray in the position of having to warn her when his father was coming home. Because of his mother, Gray really has very little use for women. Add his early childhood experiences to the cutthroat life Gray leads in Washington, D.C., and you have a recipe for a hard, uncaring cynic.

This second book in the Moorehouse legacy reminded me more of J. R. Ward's writing than the first book, but despite being well-written and interesting, I grew tired of Gray's internal whining and needless jealousy. At first it made the romantic conflict very believable, but after a while you wished he would just get over it or move on. Regardless, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to those who enjoy contemporary romances.

Joy Moorehouse has loved Grayson Bennett for years, despite only seeing the successful political consultant a few times a year. She may be the provincial younger sister of Frankie and Alex, the baby of the family, but she's well aware that he doesn't even see her - not as a woman, anyway. Sure, he's always polite, but she and the older, powerful man aren't exactly in the same social circles. Still, she couldn't help but be thrilled at the opportunity of helping Frankie and her fiance Nate cater the birthday party that Gray is throwing for his father. Several hours of surreptitiously sneaking peeks at the dashing man may not do much for her equilibrium, but it'll definitely thrill her.

Gray Bennett has no illusions about his job. It's all about getting his hands dirty, being a political shark and knowing when the blood was in the water. Or tossing the blood in the water himself as needed. It made him powerful in D.C., but it didn't do much for his soul. But then, Gray has no illusions about himself, either. The product of a loveless marriage...at least on his slut of a mother's side...he learned young - too young - that women came in two categories. The innocent and guileless Joy Moorehouse was in the good category. Ever since he'd seen her in a bikini at the lake, all lush curves and faint blushes, he hasn't been able to get her out of his head. It's driving him crazy. Making him do wild things just to get near her, and even wilder things to get away.

She's too good for him, too young for him, too innocent for him...and she's all he wants. But his past and present conspire to keep him from being the man he knows she needs.

Jessica Bird (J.R. Ward) has penned another surprisingly complex and sweet contemporary romance with three dimensional primary and secondary characters and an enchanting backdrop of gorgeous upstate New York scenery and New York City high life. Bird/Ward has an innate ability to layer plot threads and bulk up a story with characters who evolve in genuinely organic fashion over the course of a series. It's an ability that has always impressed me with her BDB series and it translates nicely to contemporary romance.

We met Joy as the nearly angelic and giving younger sister of Frankie Moorehouse in the first book in the series, Beauty and the Black Sheep, but she really impressed me in her own book. Her character is likable and despite her innocence, has an inner strength and self respect that serves her well. She could have come across a bit too sweet or a bit too easily trod upon, but instead, her growth and evolution over the course of the book was handled very well as she gets a chance to both spread her wings and stand up for what she wants. I enjoyed her.

Gray...well...okay, I have to admit, I have a soft spot for men who act like total goobs over the women they can't admit they love. Especially when they're so uber-cool in every other aspect of their life and work. And Gray was a total goob over Joy. He did have a tendency to seem a little disturbingly self-loathing in some spots, though, and that was less fun, and he had an annoying habit of making assumptions based on incorrect answers to questions he was too stubborn to ask. As a general rule, I don't have a lot of love for romances that have primary conflicts as simple to resolve as miscommunications or misunderstandings, yet still drag on for any length of a book. It frustrates me. That aspect of this book didn't thrill me.

The rest was enjoyable. Jessica Bird (J.R. Ward) certainly manages a smooth, flowing narrative that balances description and action nicely, dialogue that has a genuine conversational flow, and a layered plot that complements the preceding book and sets up the following book even as it enhances and fleshes out this one.

At its core, this contemporary romance is simple and predictable. But then, at its core, what romance isn't? The devil...and delight...is in the details. Gray's Mommy issues, his growing distaste for his job, his love and care for his father, his charming bumbling with Joy, Joy's burgeoning fashion career, her yearning to spread her wings beyond her family's Bed & Breakfast, the guilt from the pleasure of being in the big city, and more...all of that juicy stuff is what elevates this simple romance beyond the parameters of feel good fluff. I'm hooked on this series, this family, and Jessica Bird's (J.R.Ward's) contemporary romances.

Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

His Comfort and Joy by Jessica Bird
Silhouette Special Edition # 1732 - January 2006
Moorehouse Legacy trilogy - Book # 2

Gray Bennett is the first to admit that he's too jaded and cynical for sweet Joy Moorehouse. He's a political consultant that welds a lot of power in Washington, as it's his advice that has gotten Senators elected. And that political game has taken it's toll on him, so much so, that just being near Joy fills him with a need to wash his hands. He'd always known Joy, she'd grown up next door to their summerhouse, but something about her this summer has made him thoroughly aware of what a desirable woman she is, and he can't stop thinking about her. Joy has had a crush on Gray it seems like forever. For years she's fantasized about the day when he finally sits up and takes notice of her. Well, now he has and he's confusing her. He wants her but he doesn't. Joy may have stars in her eyes but she's not delusional. She knows that Gray will never offer her more than a casual fling, and at first she's willing to agree to that. Until she realizes that Gray may want her passionately but he'll always push her away emotionally and never really trust her.

This is a book I didn't want to put down until that very last page. Gray is a tortured man and scarred badly from a childhood where he watched his mother cheat repeatedly on his father. His career choice coupled with his mother's betrayals has made him a man who'll rarely ever trust a woman. Joy knows there's a good man there in Gray, one she's loved for a long time. But when he continually refuses to trust her, she's admits to defeat. There are moments where I hated Gray as much as he hated himself. Thankfully, Ms. Bird gave us hope in his redemption right from the beginning of the book. Beautifully written. :D

Moorehouse Legacy series ...
Beauty and the Black Sheep - SSE #1698 - July 2005
His Comfort and Joy - SSE #1732 - January 2006
From the First - SSE #1750 - April 2006
A Man in a Million - SSE #1803 - January 2007

THE PLAYER is a re-issue of Jessica Bird's (J.R Ward's) HIS COMFORT AND JOY which she wrote for Harlequin.*

This is book 2 in the Moorehouse legacy trilogy which I discovered through being a fan of JR Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this romance, although its within this instalment that you really begin to hear Ward's voice (and some of the Brothers too. ) The level of sexual tension throughout the story is such that I couldn't put it down. It's clever, interesting and Wow, can Ms Bird ever write a tortured love scene.

Joy Moorehouse has fantasized about Grayson Bennett for ages but not once during the 5 or 6 times a year that she sees him has he ever really noticed her. Truthfully, she realizes he probably doesn't even know her name. I mean she's being ridiculous right? Why would a wealthy political consultant and playboy extraordinaire notice her? She's just a small town nobody working in the family's B&B and looking after her ailing grandmother, he's a Washington big shot, several years older and experienced in the ways of the world. In fact the last couple of times Joy saw him he was just down right rude. What Joy doesn't realize of course is that Gray has to keep his distance; he simply doesn't trust himself when he's around her anymore.

Ever since he saw her in that bikini he can't seem to get her out of his head. Gray can barely breathe when she's near and is filled with raging, unexplainable jealousy (among other things.) Worst of all, nasty thoughts have been swimming around in his head, thoughts of what he'd like to do to her sweet virginal body given the chance. Yeah he'd better keep far away from Joy because the two of them together could only spell disaster he'd eventually wind up hurting her and Gray doesn't think his heart could take it.

Bird's build-up to this couple's first kiss (or in this case first dance) is well done and had me turning the pages in a fever of anticipation. When they finally touch during the slow dance it's well-- amazing. As a whole this story kept me entertained and was just different enough from the normal Harlequin formula to keep me guessing. It contains a movie-worthy moment on a train and Bird's usual expertise with multiple POV's. I enjoyed the updates on our past couple as well as the continual development of future storylines. Book 3, FROM THE FIRST is next and I can't wait to see how Joy s wounded and grief-stricken brother Alex finally finds happiness. Yay for me, another tortured hero.

I would highly recommend that fans of JR Ward check out this series and all of Jessica Bird's earlier writings. Cheers

Here's the correct reading order for the series
~The Moorehouse Legacy~
1-Beauty And The Black Sheep (THE REBEL)
2-His comfort and Joy (THE PLAYER)
3-From The First
4-A Man In A Million

~The O'Banyon Brothers~Bird/Ward has never completed series
1-The Billionaire Next Door

Ms Bird has written another excellant series. Has strong characters that carry from one book to the next. Whether she is writing as Jessia Bird or JR Ward, she keeps her readers coming back for more,