Deal With This (The Goddard Project, Book 2) [Paperback]

Lucy Monroe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

Alan Hyatt could do his job in his sleep, and when the Goddard Project sends him to investigate a case of high-tech espionage in the Vancouver film industry, he finds a perfect reason to work in bed. But sizzling actress Jillian Carlyle also happens to be his landlady, and she's got a hard-and-fast (so to speak) rule that keeps her from dating her renters. While Alan's cover as a reporter gets him close to all the suspects on the set of Jillian's sci-fi show, playing a background actor at her suggestion to get his story?Well, that's something else - but he's not about to turn down a red-hot redhead, even if she keeps throwing him curves...Jillian just can't understand it. Sure, Alan is six-feet-something of chiselled ruggedness with grey eyes and an irresistible growl in his voice. But hello? She doesn't do relationships - even of the casual kind - with men who impact more than her senses. No one is getting a chance at her heart. Especially not one of her renters. Still, there's nothing wrong with enjoying Alan from afar - but not too far, or she wouldn't be able to fully appreciate his rock-hard abs when he's working out in the home gym. If only he didn't make her feel safe and oh so right when they touched...

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Brava (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758211805
• ISBN-13: 978-0758211804
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With more than 6 million copies of her books in print, USA Today bestseller Lucy Monroe has published more than 50 books and had her stories translated for sale in dozens of countries. While she writes several subgenres of romance (paranormal, historical, single title and short contemporary) for multiple publishers, all of her books are sexy, emotional and show that love will conquer all. She's a passionate devotee of romance and shares her love for the genre with her readers through her books and a policy of open communication. You can find Lucy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LucyMonroe.Romance) her blog (http://lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com), her official website (http://lucymonroe.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story, but drops the ball in the end, January 29, 2008

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Deal With This (The Goddard Project, Book 2) (Paperback)

Alan is working undercover as a freelance writer researching the Vancouver film industry. His ultimate goal is to find the culprit beyond industrial espionage at one of the production companies, with ties to organized crime. He soon finds himself attracted to his landlord Jillian, who is also the star of a science fiction TV series whose production company is the subject of his clandestine investigation. Someone is out to steal technology, and is willing to kill for it. As Alan delves deeper into his investigation and the lives of the people in his rooming house, he can't help but fall for Jillian, despite her strict no sleepover policy. Her best friend Amanda is enjoying watching Jillian squirm as she deals with these new feelings.

Though billed as the second story in the Goddard series, Amanda and geeky husband Simon appeared in Monroe's earlier novel "The Real Deal." Monroe packs on the passion and tells an interesting a entertaining story but the industrial espionage angle takes a back seat to the point where there is no real resolution, only a brief paragraph to tell how they captured the baddie. And I found it to be a bit of a cliche that every male associated with the Vancouver film industry was gay.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deal With This Being a Great Read!, November 27, 2007

By 

Sheila Clover "Book Trailer Lady" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Deal With This (The Goddard Project, Book 2) (Paperback)

Length:: 1:56 Mins

Deal With This! Drama, espionage and romance! Agent Alan Hyatt is sent to investigate the selling of government secrets on the set of a popular SciFi TV show in Canada. This is a fun read and the 2nd in The Goddard Project Series. Also read Satisfaction Guaranteed (The Goddard Project, Book 1)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't Live Up To My Expectations, May 7, 2010

By 

Laurie Gold "bookie" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Deal With This (The Goddard Project, Book 2) (Paperback)

Actress Jillian Sinclair first appeared as the heroine Amanda's best friend in one of my all-time favorite romances - The Real Deal - so I couldn't wait to read about her finding true love with undercover agent Alan Hyatt. Alas, Deal With This did not live up to my expectations.

Alan Hyatt is undercover in Vancouver as a reporter in order to investigate pirated technology involving person or persons working on a syndicated SF series starring none other than former soap opera actress Jillian Sinclair. Because the show doesn't pay all that well, she also owns and runs, in a very "only in romanceland" manner, a boarding house lived in by many of those who also work on the show. Which is why Alan, of course becomes a boarder.

When Alan learns that Jillian is besties with Amanda, she becomes suspect number one, because, of course, Amanda's husband Simon is a high tech guru. But that doesn't stop the sexual chemistry from sizzling between the two. Jillian is a heroine type I've come across often, but usually in category reads. She's not as bad as a virginal radio sex therapist or virginal sex toy enthusiast, though a supposedly sexually liberated heroine who hasn't had intercourse in three years comes close. Jillian's insistence on sex without penetration, while steamy, results in love scenes that aren't particularly satisfying...there's something "off," something manufactured about a healthy couple doing everything but.

Alan falls for Jillian while she's still a semi-suspect in his mind, yet when they eventually sleep together, he somehow "knows" she's not guilty. My understanding is that blood flow is re-directed to parts below during sex; the idea that Alan's critical thinking kicks in during the throes of passion made no sense whatsoever.

While Monroe is an auto-buy author for me, her choice of words can be quirky at best...and clunky at its worst. Clunkiness wins out more often than not in this book. There's no good reason why, for instance, Jillian and Alan say "heck" rather than "hell," or "climax" rather than "come" during sex - who talks like that?

The book isn't entirely flawed; in fact, it's slightly better than average. Alan is the better of the two leads in terms of believability and overall wow factor, but together they make a good couple, and each has real reasons for avoiding a relationship. I also appreciated Monroe's treatment of Jillian's gay boarders as individual people rather than Carson Kressley clones (although one is a queen), and thought her skill as an author showed through in Alan's scenes with these men. Finally, while reunions with couples from previous books often backfire for me, some of the best moments come when the twosome visit Simon and Amanda's island home.

As for the pirated technology sub-plot, most of it went over my head. With the exception of Ready, I've not found Monroe's romantic suspense novels as successful as her straight romances. Instead of Deal with This, I'd recommend you try The Real Deal, Ready, or Come Up And See Me Sometime instead.