Divorced, Desperate and Dating (Love Spell Mystery Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christie Craig (Author)

Book Description

Series: Love Spell Mystery Romance | Publication Date: December 2008

A mystery writer is forced to reconsider her policy against dating when she is protected from death threats by the sexiest cop she's ever seen.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 353 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (December 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505527324
• ISBN-13: 978-0505527325
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christie Craig is an award-winning, multi-published writer whose non-fiction and photography have appeared in almost three thousand national magazines. A Golden Heart finalist, and a finalist in more than fifty RWA-sponsored contests, she has gained a well-deserved reputation for writing romance fiction that has both witty humor and a suspenseful, sexy tone. Published by Silhouette in the 90s, she recently broke back into fiction in a big way, making four book sales in one day. Her first single title romance novel, DIVORCED, DESPERATE & DELICIOUS published by Dorchester, will hit the stands in December 07. Her second novel, Weddings Can be Murder, comes out in June 08. Her latest non-fiction book, co-authored with Faye Hughes, is to be released September 08, is The Everything Guide To Writing a Romance Novel through Adams Media

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific!, November 22, 2008

By 

Avid reader (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Divorced, Desperate and Dating (Love Spell Mystery Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book. It's just what's been missing from the romance shelves for FAR too long: humor, action and adventure with an emphasis on the romance, and likable characters. No tortured heroes, no annoyingly "super" heroines, i.e., no super powers, no super skills, no super smart mouth, no super top secret jobs. Just smart, resourceful people you'd actually like to know. Also no paranormal creepiness. Hooray! Keep it up Christie, you're my new favorite author.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, November 19, 2008

By 

Betty Hobbs - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Divorced, Desperate and Dating (Love Spell Mystery Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

What a delightful sense of humor! Christie's style would even get someone hooked that wasn't really into reading. She gives her readers a mixture of romance and suspense with a big dose of humor! As soon as you read one of her books - you can't wait for the next one to be released!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The main story is relationship conflict based on vague communication and fear of being hurt which didn't work for me., May 7, 2009

By 

Jane (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Divorced, Desperate and Dating (Love Spell Mystery Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

STORY BRIEF:
Sue is a mystery writer. Her ex-husband and recent boyfriend were terrible choices. Jason is a police detective who has never dated a girl for more than three months. He grew up in foster homes. As soon as he became attached to a foster parent, he was moved to another home. Therefore, he doesn't want to become attached to anyone for fear of being hurt. He was drawn to Sue and kissed her once. The kiss was too good, and he didn't want to want her, so he avoided her for four months. Now, someone is stalking Sue and sending her death threats. Jason takes some vacation time to stay with Sue 24 hours a day, while he and the police try to catch the stalker. During these several days, Jason and Sue are falling for each other and want to have sex. But, Sue won't forgive him for not calling her for four months. Jason keeps asking, and Sue keeps saying no. This conflict based on Sue denying her desire for Jason lasts throughout most of the book.

REVIEWER'S OPINION (INCLUDES SOME SPOILERS):
There was a happy ending, but it didn't feel good enough. It was mostly a feeling of finally relieving the frustration of this couple denying that they wanted each other.

I was annoyed that for most of the story Sue and Jason wanted each other, but Sue kept saying no. I was annoyed that she didn't ask him "why" he didn't call her for four months, until page 180 and again on page 204. Then, both of those times he didn't answer her.

As soon as the stalker is caught, Sue and Jason have an uncomfortable conversation where neither one of them is honest with each other (page 320). Jason says he needs to go home to check on his plants. Sue acts like she doesn't need him or want to see him anymore. She is doing this because she believes "she doesn't matter to him." They are breaking up when neither one wants to. Later Jason asks her what is wrong, and she won't answer him.

In summary, most of the story is conflict in the relationship based on vague communication and inaccurate assumptions. This bothers me because it's overused in romance novels. Sometimes it's ok in small doses or when other things are going on, but in this story it didn't work for me. Solving the mystery of the death threats was ok, but it wasn't new or different enough for me to recommend the book.

DATA:
Story length: 353 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 12. Setting: current day Hoke's Bluff (small town outside of Houston, Texas). Copyright: 2008. Genre: romantic mystery.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Christie Craig books, see my 5 star review of "Divorced, Desperate and Delicious" posted 9/12/08.