Customer Reviews

Her Only Chance (Men Of Chance) (Temptation 818)

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This book was great!!! This is actually #2 in a 3 book series...Men of Chance. Be sure to check out Pure Chance by Julie Elizabeth Leto and Chance Encounters by Jill Shalvis. These Chance Brothers will give you the warm and fuzzies all over. This one did get into the psychological area a bit much at times but some of it was important to the story line. The characters really did care for each other and Ms. Porter portrayed that time and time again...(thank you Ü)! A fabulous read--you won't be disappointed!

Her Only Chance by Cheryl Anne Porter
Harlequin Temptation # 818 - February 2001
Book # 2 in the Men of Chance trilogy

Jamie's about to embark on the career of her dreams and everything hinges on her certification as a psychologist. Her mentor refused to sign her certification until she comes to terms with her failed relationship with Kellan. For ten years, Kell and Jamie have been in the hottest on again and off again relationship. It's been off for the past year, and still Jamie can't help loving Kell and missing him. Kell's a Navy SEAL on forced leave after a mission gone wrong where men under his command were injured, including himself and his best friend. He's shocked when Jamie comes to him and tells him that they need to figure things out, come to some sort of closure. Kell's always loved Jamie, and hasn't been able to figure out what it is she wants, when all he's ever wanted was to be with her.

Over all I enjoyed this book. I found Jamie tended to have tunnel vision sometimes, but she came to open her eyes in the end. Kellan is sexy, hot and a softie inside. Got to love a hero with a heart. :D

Men of Chance trilogy
Pure Chance by Julie Elizabeth Leto - Harlequin Temptation # 814 - Jan. 2001
Her Only Chance by Cheryl Anne Porter - Harlequin Temptation # 818 - Feb. 2001
Chance Encounter by Jill Shalvis - Harlequin Temptation # 822 - March 2001

The second entry in Harlequin's sexy, sassy Men of Chance series, Her Only Chance centers on Kellan Chance. This daredevil middle brother lives up to the family name as a hard-charging, hard-bodied Navy SEAL. Working out of a military base on Florida's West Coast, Kell is used to leading his men on top-secret and potentially-deadly covert missions overseas. What really scares this hero is a woman.

And not just any woman. Jamie Winslow is putting the final touches on her education and licensure to practice psychology. She even has a lucrative book deal already in the works. There's just one hurdle she has to get over before her own shrink will attest to her readiness her on-again, off-again relationship with Kellan Chance has to be reconciled. After all, if she can't sew up her own loose ends, how can Jamie expect to help her future clients solve their problems?

Against the tropical backdrop of Florida's Gulf Coast, Kell and Jamie collide. And the sparks fly. Kell wants Jamie. But he needs a woman who'll love him for the adventurous spirit that's guided his life. Jamie's drawn to Kell like a moth to flame. And wants with all her heart a man who loves her so much that he won't want to put his life on the line just his heart. They really should put an end to this tempestuous stand-off. Or should they?

In her first Harlequin Temptation, Cheryl Anne Porter explores high school sweethearts who are given a second chance a love. The child of divorce, Jamie Winslow wants security. A Navy SEAL, Kellan Chance seeks thrills risking his life in the line in duty. With such different values, they can't live with each other, nor can they live without each other.

An unexpected encounter with a publisher at a cocktail party while Jamie makes small talk about her dissertation leads to an opportunity of a lifetime. The publisher wants her to rewrite her dissertation about women who fall for the wrong type of men, making it a self-help guide on relationships complete with lots of tips and exercises. Jamie's thrilled with the offer, which she must keep a secret; but the offer is contingent upon graduation and securing her psychology license. Part of the process of securing her license depends upon therapy sessions targeted to demonstrate her own emotional strength. If she fails, ten years of higher education and her career will be lost.

Jamie feels like a fraud because she also fell for the wrong man, and is still deeply in love with him despite their breakup a year ago. Dr. Hampton tells Jamie that she must seek closure with the relationship with Kell before he'll approve her license. It seems that she left him at the altar when she was twenty-one. When they finally got together again, two years ago, she walked out again a year later. Her excuse is that Jamie doesn't believe she can live with man who defies death every time he's sent on a mission.

Kellan is Gaelic for warrior, and lives up to his name. Risk is in his genes. His parents are professional gamblers. His brother Brandon is a former Nightstalker pilot turned bodyguard (PURE CHANCE by Julie Elizabeth Leto). His brother T.J is a wild, uninhibited adventurer (CHANCE ENCOUNTER by Jill Shavis). Chance isn't just a name--it's the family motto! Further, an unexpected encounter with Jamie at the airport proves he's not at all over Jamie. But when she shows up seeking closure, they open far more issues than closing them!

HER ONLY CHANCE begins with a simmer and becomes quite a potboiler by the conclusion. Cheryl Anne Porter's strong characters and fabulous plot make for a heated tale that's become a keeper on my shelf. The humor packed and depth of emotion packed inside this romance make it an excellent read. Very highly recommended.

I'm generally rather non-critical of romance novels - I read them for lighthearted fun, as long as I'm entertained I'm happy. But this book just drags on and on and on... I wound up wanting to yell at both main characters - get over it all ready! The author seems to have tried for a psychological story line, exploring emotional hang ups the characters didn't even know they had. But the therapy sessions are unbelievable. The mental explorations are tedious. Very disappointing.

Her Only Chance starts out with promise but fizzles by the 3rd chapter. Kellan Chance and Jamie Winslow are former sweethearts and were once engaged to be married. After leaving him at the altar once and walking out on him for the second time, Jamie must find closure with Kellan to get her license to practice psychology. I found the two characters analyzed each other far too much and I started to feel like I was reading a psychology manual instead of a romance. I also found the heroine to be irritating and selfish and the hero was not as strong as I thought he would have been. I was disappointed by this book since the first book in the series was so good.

There are a few cute, sweet, funny scenes but they are just too few and far between to make this book worthwhile. The hero was likeable if somewhat bland, but the heroine was irritating, annoying, immature, and self-centered. I give up on a book when I think the hero would be better off with someone else. The two main characters continually psychoanalyze each other and this got to be rather tedious. Also, I have never really cared for books that rely on the "Oh, but he has such a dangerous job and he won't listen to me complain about it" story line. Lastly, I found the portrayal of the field of psychology to be unrealistic. Granted, I am a social work graduate and don't know all the ins and outs of psychology licensure. But from what I do know, the portrayal here is fairly unrealistic, and this was rather irritating to me. I kept thinking, geez, shouldn't she have more field experience by the time she got to her PHD and found it unrealistic in the first place that her licensure would hinge on her "passing" therapy sessions with her professor.