Customer Reviews

Mergers and Matrimony (Silhouette Special Edition) (Silhouette Special Edition)

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

 

 

I adored this book! The Japanese hero was beautifully done, the heroine and supporting characters excellent as well, and the setting and story quite wonderful. Of course it did happen to feed into my personal fantasies, but isn't that what romance is all about? Well written, sweetly sexy, and charming.

Mergers & Matrimony by Allison Leigh
Silhouette Special Edition # 1761 - June 2006
Family Business - Book # 6

Helen's not a stupid woman but she can't help feeling that way when she finds out that her deceased husband had viewed her as a trophy wife. This certainly explained the dismissive attitude of her stepsons. At the reading of the will, Helen is given controlling interest in Hanson Media, and she's determined to return the company back to its glory. The merger with Japanese media giant TAKA Corp. is the perfect solution. But when Mori Taka begins to take interest in Helen as a woman, the TAKA executives and Helen's stepsons wonder if Helen is on the make for another very rich husband.

I found this to be very well written. I loved learning a bit about Japanese culture. Ms. Leigh gave great depth to Helen's character. Helen grows stronger as the story enfolds. At first she's disillusioned and hurt, but then she picks herself up and moves on, proving to all around her that she's not just a beautiful blond. Mori, though a man of the world, holds close to traditional Japanese culture. Helen is at first a curiosity and then she becomes a compulsion. He admires her courage and finds her intellect a challenge. Ms. Leigh has written a very touching love story.

Prodigal Son by Susan Mallery - SSE-1729 - February 2006
The Boss and Miss Baxter by Wendy Warren - SSE-1737- March 2006
The Baby Deal by Victoria Pade - SSE-1742 - April 2006
Falling for the Boss by Elizabeth Harbison - SSE-1747 - May 2006
Her Best Kept Secret by Brenda Harlen - SSE-1756 - June 2006
Mergers and Matrimony by Allison Leigh - SSE-1761 - July 2006

I love interracial/multicultural romances, and I was first drawn to this story because of the Japanese hero, Mori. I loved him! He is all that I love in a hero. Mori is so intense with those piercing dark eyes, that inscrutable look he gives the herione Helen, as if he's trying to figure her out. I love it when you can feel the hero's gaze. The sexual tension is great and so sexy. It's not over the top, but it is seductive in its gentle progression, as both characters try to understand and to resist what's happening between them.

Mori is 47, Helen is 41, and both are widowed. They each catch the other off guard, both being not what the other is used to and not normally attracted to. Given this merging of Helen's family business with Mori's corporation, their desire for the other is problematic, due to family and cultural expectations. As Helen and Mori work this out, finding their way to each other, you want them to succeed, to have it all.

This is a lovely story with a wonderful Japanese influence. Most of the story takes place in Tokyo, and the city and culture are characters themselves. All the characters, the plot, the setting, the emotions, all of it is beautifully drawn in words and action, one scene just moving into the next, with no unnecessary action or feeling to be found. Even with a small romance book like this, the author created a well-thought out, romantic and touching story.

If you want a hot Japanese hero who is a real modern-day warrior, and if you want a heroine who is gentle yet strong, you will enjoy this story in every way.

I loved this book. Nice contrast between the East and West but also respected the hopes and dreams of an "older" woman and man. Appreciated the fact that, in the end, Helen was loved not just for her beauty but for her mind.

Back Cover:

To: Helen Hanson
From: Richard Warren
RE: Almost through!
It's been an exhausting battle, but we're almost done with the merger between Hanson Media and the Japanese powerhouse TAKA Corporation. And we couldn't have done it without your business savvy, Helen. Your late husband, George, would be proud of all you've done to salvage the business for his kids.
I hear that you and the fierce head negotiator, Morito Taka, are getting on famously. I'm surprised that he'd even talk to someone from the other side of the negotiating table, but your all-American beauty and sparkling blue eyes seem to have captivated him! Just be careful, Helen: mixing work with pleasure can be a risky business.

I like this book. While it may not be my absolute favorite, I did like the enduring promise of love and of a future. Helen Hanson was the young "trophy" wife who finds herself having to deal with three obstinate stepsons whom she loves as if they were her home, and at the helm of her husband's company that is not doing so well. Morito Taka is a moral and upright man who has been putting up roadblocks on the merger between his company and Hanson's. Widowed with no desire to marry or fall in love, he has a enough on his plate between work and raising his teenage daughter. Neither Helen nor Morito expect to fall in love but they do. Different as day and night, many obstacles are thrown in front of them and they find themselves divided with familial obligations and their own desires. What I liked about this book was that there was no one who really got hurt nor was there any real villain. It had this family, home and hearth feel to it. I like reading romantic suspenseful mystery books but I also like to sit on a nice comfy chair with a good book that has neither violence or deceit in it. It kind of brings you back to earth. This book may not win any literary prizes but that doesn't matter as long as the plot is quick and to the point, and there is a down-to-earth quality to it.