Customer Reviews

Live A Little! (Harlequin Blaze)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Accountant Cynthia Baxter would like to learn to live a little. Her six year engagement to a doctor more concerned with patients than his personal relationships drives her to desperate measures. She purchases the September issue of Raunch Magazine, which categorizes its fantasies into Boudoir Beginners, Intimate Intermediates, and Erotically Advanced. She'd even highlighted her favorite fantasies. But Walter leaves her naked and handcuffed to the bed while he leaves to deliver a baby. Hours later, a neighbor finally comes to the rescue. But meeting FBI agent Jake Wheeler under such conditions does not fulfill her fantasy.

At first, Jake Wheeler assumes Cynthia's prone position resulted from a working girl's day gone bad. Her trash looks juxtapose an oddly innocent expression in her eyes, driving his libido over the edge, even if he has sworn off wild women with revolving bedroom doors. However, when he realizes that Cynthia's an accountant, Jake convinces her to volunteer to help him crack a drug smuggling operation by accepting a new job with his quarry. Cynthia leaps at the opportunity for change and excitement. She transforms herself into Cyn the Bold and prepares to plunge into the world of black ops, spies and danger. Even as Jake suspects that the sophisticated sex-pot routine is fake, it's too late to withdraw from a very dangerous situation-both undercover and under the covers.

Now this is what a Blaze should be! Sexy, daring, and bold with a dash of levity, LIVE A LITTLE! lives up to my highest expectations. The heroine doesn't waste time protesting her innocence, the hero doesn't struggle over needless issues, and the plot never slows. Indeed, the dangerous plot echoes the dangerous eroticism of a handcuff fantasy, resulting in a terrific read. Pleasing, tempting and erotic, LIVE A LITTLE! comes very highly recommended.

I was surprised to read all of the wonderful feedback for the book. I'm all for fairy tales but this was so way out there even I couldn't believe it. I am fairly certain that no FBI agent would enlist the services of a complete novice because they hoped said novice would sleep with the boss and discover his secrets. Nevermind that the FBI agent has completely misjudged Cyn, the main character, forming the opinion that she is faast and loose simply because he had to rescue her while she was handcuffed naked to her bed (OK - that was good). I enjoyed reading about Cynthia's change from reserved to sexpot, that was fun. Unfortunately, the context in which it played out was ridiculous. Igave this 3 stars for the well written sex scenes (and there are quite a few) but the plot? 1 star would be pushing it.

Accountant Cynthia Baxter would like to learn to live a little. Her six year engagement to a doctor more concerned with patients than his personal relationships drives her to desperate measures. She purchases the September issue of Raunch Magazine, which categorizes its fantasies into Boudoir Beginners, Intimate Intermediates, and Erotically Advanced. She'd even highlighted her favorite fantasies. But Walter leaves her naked and handcuffed to the bed while he leaves to deliver a baby. Hours later, a neighbor finally comes to the rescue. But meeting FBI agent Jake Wheeler under such conditions does not fulfill her fantasy.

At first, Jake Wheeler assumes Cynthia's prone position resulted from a working girl's day gone bad. Her trash looks juxtapose an oddly innocent expression in her eyes, driving his libido over the edge, even if he has sworn off wild women with revolving bedroom doors. However, when he realizes that Cynthia's an accountant, Jake convinces her to volunteer to help him crack a drug smuggling operation by accepting a new job with his quarry. Cynthia leaps at the opportunity for change and excitement. She transforms herself into Cyn the Bold and prepares to plunge into the world of black ops, spies and danger. Even as Jake suspects that the sophisticated sex-pot routine is fake, it's too late to withdraw from a very dangerous situation-both undercover and under the covers.

Now this is what a Blaze should be! Sexy, daring, and bold with a dash of levity, LIVE A LITTLE! lives up to my highest expectations. The heroine doesn't waste time protesting her innocence, the hero doesn't struggle over needless issues, and the plot never slows. Indeed, the dangerous plot echoes the dangerous eroticism of a handcuff fantasy, resulting in a terrific read. Pleasing, tempting and erotic, LIVE A LITTLE! comes very highly recommended.

Cynthia Baxter decides to spice up her life, so she buys a copy of Raunch magazine's fantasy issue and surprises her fiance with handcuffs and a fantasy. Unfortunately, her fiance--soon to be her ex-fiance--gets a call and rushes out, forgetting her. That's how Jake Wheeler comes to find her naked, handcuffed to her bedposts. Jake needs help...a sexy little account is just what the FBI needs. And Cyn? Well, she might be just what Jake himself needs.

Nancy Warren's Blaze Romance, Live a Little, will occasionally have you laughing more than a little as she spins a hot tale of love.

Cynthia Baxter buys a copy of Raunch magazine in hopes of spicing up her personal life. After reading an article, the accountant persuades her staid fiancé Walter Plinkney to handcuff her to her bed. However, Walter, a doctor, accepts an emergency call. In his haste to help his patient, Walter leaves Cyn (as she puns herself) locked to the bedpost.

With her bladder neared bursting, Cynthia manages to get the attention of her new neighbor, FBI agent Jake Wheeler. He rescues her, but, based on fist impressions, he believes Cynthia is into kinky sex. Jake is undercover and convinces Cynthia to help him on his case. She agrees hoping for a little excitement to break up the ennui, but neither she nor the Fed expected to fall in love with one another.

Nancy Warren has written an amusing yet torrid romance due to the efforts of the ingenuous Cynthia to live up to the homonym of her nickname Cyn. Though she tries to display the image of a sophisticated sexpot, the heroic hunk knows she is not winning any academy awards for her performance. Yet, he also realizes that somehow this innocent makes his libido attain stratospheric levels. Category fans will LIVE A LITTLE when they read this fun tale.

Harriet Klausner

STORY BRIEF:
Cynthia is an accountant who wants some excitement in her sex life. She buys some sex toy handcuffs and has her fiancé Walter handcuff her to the bed. Apparently he left the room and forgot about her when he got a call to go to the hospital. He's a doctor. Several hours later she hears a neighbor's car and yells out the window for help. The neighbor sends Jake, an FBI agent who recently moved into the neighborhood. He frees her. He thinks she is sexually wild and then is excited to learn that she's an accountant. This makes her perfect for a case he's working on. Neville is into S&M and owns a company Jake believes is in the drug business. If Cynthia could get a job there, she could connect with Neville sexually as well as search his records as an accountant. He asks Cynthia if she would be willing to volunteer for the FBI. She agrees. She gets a makeover, interviews for the job and gets it. Later Jake realizes Cynthia is not the wild sex kitten he thought, and he is attracted to her. So now he tries to convince her to quit the job for her safety. But she won't. She likes the adventure and him.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
It may not be real-life believable, but it was fun. One part of the story didn't get worked out enough. A bad guy is aware of Cynthia doing something suspicious but doesn't act on it until days later. I could accept his delay, but I wanted to know his thinking as to why he waited to confront her. Other than that the story and characters were good. It's a little shorter than most romance novels.

DATA:
Story length: 246 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 6. Approximate number of sex scene pages: 23. Setting: current day Seattle, Washington. Copyright: 2001. Genre: romantic suspense.

I've read all of the Blaze books so far, and this is my favorite. This is a very good book by a great writer, because it truly combines red-hot romance with a snarky sense of humor and a satisfying mystery.

Some Blaze authors write great sex scenes, and others think up great plots, but Nancy Warren is the first to successfully combine the two. If this is the way the line is heading, I'll keep buying 'em.

I've bought all the Blaze's since their launch earlier this year and for the most part, I have enjoyed the stories. But when reading the excerpts, previews, and reviews about this books, I can tell you, the anticipation alone nearly did me in!

A boring, mousy accountant turned sex kitten wanting to hop into bed with an FBI agent with no grasp for rules and regulations whatsoever. From the second these two meet, you know where they're headed and boy, do they go to some places. The warehouse scene was... Wow. Just read it!

I wish, truly wish, that I could give this story more than five stars. It was humorous, sexy, and romantic. The characters were two that I won't soon forget and all done in less than 300 pages. A romance fan couldn't ask for anything more. I definitely can't wait for the next by this beginning author and will add Nancy Warren to my must read list. Check out the authors site (her name .net) for excerpts and reviews.

Enjoy!

The plot of this book is just too unbelievable. Either this guy is the worst FBI agent in the history of the FBI or I don't know what. The "heroine" is shallow and just plain idiotic. I thought the story dragged out and I found myself skipping pages.

I love a romance novel where a man's trying to save a woman as much as anybody, but this one wasn't too believable in the scenerios that played out. The idea was great, but normally, about halfway through a book, my heart tugs for the couple that's struggling to see that their relationship can work. With this book...not so much. I didn't feel drawn to the characters. I didn't feel anxious to continue reading and to hope that they were together in the end. I believe this would have been a better book had the plot been a little more realistic.