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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A blazing tale of romance, August 26, 2001
This review is from: Exposed (Harlequin Blaze) (Paperback)
In San Francisco, Ariana Karas devotes her life to making her Greek restaurant, Ari's Oasis, a success. Maxwell Forrester is a regular at Ari's Oasis, but surprisingly may be the only repeat male customer whom has not tried to pick up Ari. Needing time off and wanting romance, albeit only for a week, Ari decides to see first hand how Max can fill her nights with warmth and sex. Timing may be a bit off, as Max is to marry his best friend's cousin, a friend also, tomorrow. Max has chosen friendship as the key to his nuptials rather than love and his future spouse Madelyn apparently agrees. However, at his bachelor party someone drugs Max. When he awakens the next morning he finds the lovely Ari sharing his bed and his bride missing. Though he worries about Maddie and has problems remembering the night, Max finds he wants passion in his bed, which means Ari, but she wants a week or is she reconsidering perhaps a lifetime? However someone is exposing their tryst. EXPOSED lives up to the Blaze imprint, as this contemporary romance is torrid. The story line heats up the pages and explains what is meant by a warm San Francisco night though the animal magnetism of the lead duo though the plot turns a bit thin with the exposure of the blazing affair. Still, fans will still relish the story line because the passion between Ari and Max is not just real, it is a feeling that every reader desires and Julie Elizabeth Leto catches every solar spark between her stars. Harriet Klausner
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One incredible, sexy story., August 14, 2001
This review is from: Exposed (Harlequin Blaze) (Paperback)
EXPOSED is one of the first four inaugural books in the new Blaze line from Harlequin. Having been a fan of this author for a long time, I was really looking forward to her contribution and I wasn't disappointed at all. As in her previous books, Ms. Leto gives us a steamy but not over-the-top love story with likeable characters in a well-plotted, believable story, this time with a touch of mystery added. Ariana Karas is a successful San Francisco restaurateur; Max Forrester makes a name for himself in real estate. Each has been covertly eyeing each other for a year or so each time Max stops by Athens by the Sea, but Max is about to marry a friend (think along the lines of a marriage of convenience). So nothing is more shocking than finding Ariana in his bed the next morning. Not only can he not remember much from the night before [other than it was one heck of a night], but it seems his bride-to-be had bolted for parts unknown prior to the ceremony, leaving behind a cryptic message. Both Ariana and Max are good people who find themselves the targets of a deliberate set-up, a set-up that could ruin them both. They join forces to uncover the truth and in the process discover some startling and sizzling truths about themselves, not the least of which is the incredible sexual fire that ignites between them. I knew I was going to like this book when I stayed up way too late at night reading. Ms. Leto evoked sympathy from me for Ariana and Max. They'd both been deceived and poor Max could have died from the drug in his drink, yet instead of flying off on a quest of vengeance, both showed maturity in dealing with the problem. A good cast of secondary characters and some red herrings in the mystery add depth and tension to the story. A final note of warning: You may never look at your clothes dryer in quite the same way ever again.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Searing! Very highly recommended, August 10, 2001
This review is from: Exposed (Harlequin Blaze) (Paperback)
After five years of tireless devotion to her aunt and uncle's restaurant, Athens by the Bay specializes in Greek and Italian food, Ariana Karas takes a well-earned week for vacation. Coincidentally, Ari finds a magazine that features includes Sexy City Nights: San Francisco Style, displaying a sizzling pictorial display of two lovers enjoying the city's possibilities. Seeing the magazine inspires a fierce desire to live her fantasies and let San Francisco work its magic on her tired, lonely heart. Divorced, Ari's holds a single-minded determination to make the restaurant a success. Sixteen-hour days have kept her from exploring the city or from even having a personal life. But she can't help noticing the sexy businessman who comes in several times a week, although he has never flirted with her--if he had, she'd have long sense gotten over her interest. Now with a whole, empty week ahead of her, Ari's ready to light his fire. So when Charlie, purportedly the groom at a rehearsal dinner, finally successfully encourages Ari to make a pass at Maxwell Forrester, the results are unexpectedly combustible. She wants to have an affair. One week, and one week only, of Max should satisfy her hottest desires. Business tycoon Maxwell Forrester has been coming to Ari's Oasis for two years, surreptitiously eyeing the beautiful Ari. When someone slips a Mickey in his drink during his own bachelor party, the night before his wedding to someone else, Max's carefully erected inhibitions come crashing down, reducing him to basic inherent need--and he needs this beautiful Greek woman. Max seduces Ari in a memorable night of passion--memorable to her, that is. The cold light of dawn exposes a spotty memory, but a strong desire to know this incredible woman better. He had been planning a marriage based on friendship, and when the bride-to-be disappears the morning of the wedding, Max finds himself wanting not a partnership with a friend, but so much more. Unfortunately, neither Ari nor Max know who slipped him the Mickey, or just how Exposed they are about to be. Against a glittering, neon and historical San Francisco background, author Julie Elizabeth Leto kicks off the launch of the Blaze Sexy City Nights series with a combustible romance. The thrill of exhibitionism and tantalizing possibilities unite in a sizzling plot, completed by fabulous characters that have foibles enough to believable, and are hot enough to keep the temperature rising. Daring, sexy, and fun, EXPOSED reveals the dangers of leaving one's self exposed. Very highly recommended.
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