Impulsive [Paperback]

HelenKay Dimon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2010

Katie Long was supposed to be undercover. She was just supposed to watch Deputy Prosecutor Eric Kimura at his ex's wedding and gather intel on his campaign for prosecutor. But he's a lot hotter in person, and the kind of intel they accidentally shared in the hotel bathroom might lose both of them their jobs. Especially since it seems to be a recurring incident. Is it possible for a one-night stand to last ten days? Kimura isn't usually the impulsive type. He's driven, he's ambitious, and he knows what he wants - a respectable future in Hawaii politics. Which means wild half-public sex with a beautiful stranger in a short little caterer's skirt is just tabloid fodder waiting to happen. Conveniently, just as his campaign is coming under attack. Sabotage, media gossip, and an insatiable desire for a woman he just met? If he's not careful, Counselor Kimura might lose all control...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Katie has a history of making self-destructive mistakes. After her parents’ death, she ran away from her sister and lived on the beach with the wrong crowd until a drug charge sent her back to her sister and niece in Honolulu, where she works for her sister’s catering business. Katie’s latest bad decision is to accept money to spy on Eric Kamura, a prominent prosecutor running for district attorney, while she serves food at his ex-girlfriend’s wedding. Drawn to the handsome attorney, she ends up locked up with him in the bathroom for an intimate interlude. This does not go unnoticed by Eric’s campaign, but he cannot seem to give Katie up. Katie refuses to do any more spying, believing that there is more than sex involved in their relationship, but can’t prevent further revelations that damage Eric’s career. Dimon gives her readers a sizzling, sex-filled romp that reverses roles as the good guy reforms the “bad” girl to everyone’s delight. --Patty Engelmann

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Brava; Original edition (October 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758229097
• ISBN-13: 978-0758229090
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

By day I'm a divorce lawyer specializing in unhappy endings. One day, during a particularly difficult string of cases, a former co-worker handed me a romance novel with the promise of a much-needed escape and a happy ending. I've been reading - and now writing - romance ever since.

My first release, the novella HARDHATS AND SILK STOCKINGS in the Kensington Brava anthology WHEN GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO BAD BOYS with Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy, was an Amazon, B&N and Borders bestseller. My first single author anthology, VIVA LAS BAD BOYS!, earned rave reviews and was a bestseller on Amazon and at B&N. Both books are available on Amazon and at other bookselling outlets.

My first single title, YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY, is a July 2007 Kensington Brava release. Check back here for more details. You also can visit me at www.helenkaydimon.com for updated information and some chit chat on my blog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3.75***, really, November 8, 2010

By 

RVAbooklover "Sharon" (Richmond, Va United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Impulsive (Paperback)

The Hero in the latest HelenKay Dimon novel, Impulsive, made his first appearance in Holding Out For a Hero, which I loved. Eric, I thought, really got the shaft in HOFaH, so I was pleased to see him get a chance at his HEA. He is an up and coming prosecutor running for District Attorney, with an eye on the Governor's Mansion at some future point. As noted, he meets Katie at Deana (Eric's former fiancee) and Josh's wedding. By meet, I mean has sex with. Nameless, anonymous sex with a stranger. While running for public office. I get that Eric was at an emotional breaking point. I get that the whole DA thing is a small, local race. I even agree that single candidates for public office have every right to expect their private lives to remain private. Having said that, none of the above worked for me on any level, which kind of put the spin on my enjoyment of the book.

Eric is a terrific hero, confident and very self contained. He has an iron grip on his emotions. While reading Holding Out For a Hero, I felt so bad for him. He was so obviously hurting over the loss of Deana, yet trying to do the right thing, trying to let go. Eric got to me in that book, and he got to me in Impulsive, as well. (Even with the questionable choices) When he catches Katie in lie after lie, and then even more half truths and lies of omission, he keeps trying to rationalize her behavior. Granted, some of her untruthful behavior was a misguided attempt to protect him, but how can he ever trust her?

Katie is a 25 year old who is still stuck in an arrested development stage. She does not display a great deal of maturity. Katie lives with her older sister, Cara, and works to help Cara build her catering business. Cara is a sanctimonious type who insists on reminding Katie continuously of her past transgressions. I have to believe this constant revisiting of the past is not helping Katie move on. Katie does seem to care for Eric, but between the lying and the jumping to conclusions, I didn't really see a lot of relationship development except for the sex. By the end of the book, she gets over her irrational jealously of Deana and stands up for herself to the bad guy.

Most of the relationship was spent with them fighting and then seeking each other out to get back together. By the time Eric finally lost his cool, I was not opposed to the idea of him dumping Katie and trying to find another woman with whom he would not have to jump through mental hoops to justify his attraction.I liked Katie for what she was, but I didn't like her as a heroine.She was too immature.

Ms. Dimon spelled out quite clearly that Katie did not believe she was good enough for Eric so she was pushing him away before he could dump her. I read the words, but it did not translate in the story. Their relationship reminded me of a teenage romance. Eric is 37. He is confident, in control. To be baited into a push/pull, manipulative trap of a relationship such as this, well, it just didn't ring true to me.

The saving grace is that Ms. Dimon is a great writer. Just because I did not particularly like the direction the story took does not mean I can't appreciate the writing. She writes spectacular dialogue, and her secondary characters are fleshed out well. I loved Seth, although I was sorely disappointed with his love interest, as well.

I would heartily recommend any of Ms. Dimon's other titles, and this was by no stretch a bad book. I just couldn't relate, unfortunately. YMMV.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romance, Secrets, Politics...Oh My!, November 4, 2010

By 

A Very Merry Shakespeare "Amy E. Lignor" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Impulsive (Paperback)

This fantastic romance author is back, and back with a vengeance. As always, I can trust Ms. Dimon to deliver a wonderfully fast-paced story filled with the sensuality that all us women are looking for in real life. From the first paragraph, Katie Long's life made me want to toss this whole daily grind thing away, and head to Hawaii where her day was being spent in brilliant sunshine surrounded by the fresh scents of saltwater, pikake, and the aftershave lotion of the most amazingly handsome man she'd ever met.

Katie Long was catering this wedding as a favor to her beloved sister, Cara. Now Cara is a wonderfully strong sibling who has just started her new catering company in order to provide for her daughter Ashleigh. Cara's husband left them dangling and alone, and Cara is doing her absolute best to change their lives for the better. Now, Katie was mostly a screw-up throughout her lifetime, so she is definitely trying to be a better person and work very hard to help Cara and her beloved niece. What Cara doesn't know, however, is that Katie is actually working undercover at this wedding, trying to get the "scoop" on Deputy Prosecutor Eric Kimura who is a guest, and a man readying himself to run for office. You see, the people who hired Katie want with all their might to dig up some dirt on the "vanilla" prosecutor in order to have him star in his opponent's campaign commercials. Or...at least, that's what Katie thinks.

The wedding event that Eric shows up at is the wedding of his longtime girlfriend, Deana, who dumped Eric because he refused to "pull strings" in order to save one of her family members from prison. Today, she's marrying a DEA agent that Eric knows, and all he wants to do is disappear into the night because of how absolutely uncomfortable he feels. Of course, he only came in the first place so that he could prove to the "cameras" and the voters that he has no hard feelings - a real stand-up guy who wants their vote. But not only does Eric want to leave, he can feel the slight anger that still dwells in his soul that Deana caused when she walked out on him. With the fire burning, he finds himself in the embrace of a young, beautiful waitress dressed in catering garb, allowing him to savor her tasty treats.

What begins as a half-hour fling soon turns into a budding romance that has more red herrings and sinister characters surrounding it than any other relationship on record. Not only does Eric not know the reality behind Katie's first meeting with him, but he also doesn't realize that his campaign is about to be sabotaged.

This novel was not only filled with the sweet, sensuality that Ms. Dimon is known for, but the story, itself, was extremely fun to read. Watching Katie try to figure out how she went from spy to the woman that's being spied on; to watching Eric try to determine whether the person out to destroy his career is friend or foe, makes this one extremely hard to put down. Any fan of romance, adventure, intrigue, or mystery will truly find themselves engrossed by the end of page one. And you will, most definitely, wish right along with me that Katie's fantasy was your reality. Enjoy!

Until Next Time,
Amy

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another great book from HelenKay Dimon!, October 27, 2010

By 

Laurie (OH - USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Impulsive (Paperback)

Working with her caterer sister at a wedding reception, Katie Long never guessed she would find herself intimately connected with Prosecuting Attorney candidate Eric Kimura. Keeping a close eye on Eric at the wedding reception of his former fiancee is not one of Katie's finer moments, but she desperately needs money. She doesn't know who, but someone was willing to pay for info on Eric's actions and reactions at the wedding and reception, and Katie was in a position to accommodate. Eric wants to explore the possibilities of a relationship with Katie, but she's keeping a secret that could tear them apart before they have an opportunity to see what the future could hold.
Eric knows his every move at the reception is being dissected. His run for the office of Honolulu's Prosecuting Attorney in the upcoming election has put him under the microscope. Meeting Katie is a real bright spot in the harried confusion that his life has become. As Eric and Katie are getting to know each other, his campaign is taking hit after hit with rumors and scandalous accusations about him and his former fiancee.
HelenKay's characters are wonderfully flawed with just enough imperfections to keep them real. Katie and Eric are no exception. Katie was more than a little lost when her parents died and she made some poor lifestyle choices. Eric knows about her mistakes and sees through them to the real Katie - and he likes what he sees. Katie's sister and her baby girl are crucial to Katie's story. The three may seem a little vulnerable, but they possess an underlying strength that bonds them. Eric has friends and family who are extremely protective of him and his professional reputation. Eric knows image is important to all candidates but realizes that he wants Katie in his life too badly to allow her to continue to hold her secret.
I highly recommend IMPULSIVE to all contemporary romance readers. If you've read HelenKay's work before, you already know what an amazing storyteller she is. If you haven't read her work, IMPULSIVE would be an excellent place to start!