Some Girls Do (Warner Forever) [Mass Market Paperback]

Leanne Banks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Warner Forever | Publication Date: May 2003

Katie Collins, a tycoon's personal assistant, is assigned to find a suitable husband for his too-shy daughter. But in an unexpected turn, sparks soon fly between Katie and the tycoon's bodyguard--much to Katie's dismay. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Category romance veteran Banks (The Playboy & Plain Jane, etc.) debuts in the single title arena with a cute but strained romantic comedy. Wealthy Ivan Rassmussen offers his assistant, Katie Collins, $100,000 to find a blueblood husband for his unattractive daughter, Wilhemina. Katie accepts-a decision that pairs her with grim but gorgeous Michael Wingate, a security expert similarly roped into the project. The matchmaking has barely begun when Wilhemina runs away to Texas to catch herself a cowboy. As Michael and Katie pursue her, Katie reveals the beauty and sexuality under her plain-Jane image, while Michael shows his caring side. They're halfway in love by the time they find Wilhemina, but so is she. Now, all the three have to do is explain to Ivan the Terrible how his well-guarded daughter managed to get pregnant by a hog farmer. Banks's prose sparkles with energy and heart, but the book's sexy veneer fails to mask its oddly dated premise. In addition, a plot chock-full of cliches (from the tyrannical tycoon to an unlikely inheritance) makes it difficult to bond with the characters. Only when the story lets itself relax into a gentler realism-during interludes between Wilhemina and her goodhearted farmer, for example-does it strike a true vein of gold.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Prim, proper, and deceptively plain, Katie Collins, the personal assistant to wealthy, and often married, Ivan (the Terrible) Rasmussen, is directed to find a suitable husband for his daughter, Wilhemina, while he is off on a honeymoon with his most recent wife. The insecure and ungainly heiress runs away to Texas after overhearing devastating comments about her from a man she thought was a potential husband, so Katie and security expert Michael Wingate follow her trail to Texas, where Wilhemina has fallen head-over-heals in love with the hog farmer who rescues her after she crashes her rented Cadillac into a ditch. Meanwhile, to expedite matters, Katie drops her contrived plain image to allow her beauty to show and follows the advice of her dead mother (who had a way with men) to weasel out information that will help with their search. Then, inadvertently, she falls for Michael. While not laugh-out-loud funny, Banks' romance is a witty feel-good read with charming characters and a page-turning plot. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forever (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446611727
• ISBN-13: 978-0446611725
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Leanne Banks is a national #1 best-selling author with over fifty romance novels to her credit. Leanne was born and raised in the wonderful town of Roanoke, Virginia. Growing up in "the star city of the south" had a huge impact on her outlook and her writing. Her B.S. in Psychology only qualifies her to treat fictional characters and she began writing when her two children were very young. Leanne believes in the transforming power of love, so writing romance novels comes naturally to her. Her muse is a 4.5 lb Pomeranian who is happy to snooze beside Leanne while Leanne creates. Leanne loves travel and trips to the beach, but what's most important to her is family. Leanne's home on the web is www.leannebanks.com To get the most up-to-date scoop on Leanne, visit her on facebook http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/leanne.banks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One for the Bubble bath, October 6, 2003

By 

curvynovelsdotinfo "[e-mail]" (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Girls Do (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)

Heroines: varied

Prim, responsible Katie Collins has just taken on a whopper of an assignment for her rich, controlling, egomaniacal boss--get his plump and plain eccentric daughter down the aisle with a suitable man from Philadelphia's snooty upper crust.

Too bad for Katie that "Cinderella" vamoosed before her would-be fairy godmother and hunky bodyguard knew what was happening. Now Katie has to return to her Texas roots, which she's avoided for a decade, to try and convince the skittish Wilhelmina to come home away from the hog farmer she's fallen in love with! And to top it all off, she has to travel with the security firm owner cum temporary bodyguard, Michael Wingate, a man she is trying desperately hard not to be attracted to. A man who is running just as hard from his history as she is from hers.

What worked for me:

I liked the characters and the storyline. But I particularly liked the fact that Wilhelmina's story was given so much attention. (I just wish I'd gotten to know her lover Doug better.)

I suspect Ms. Banks is a fan of Jennifer Crusie, but instead of her romantic comedy featuring a weird looking dog, this time we get an ugly cat.

Size-wise Katie was slender, but trying to hide her prettiness under plain clothes and a severe hairdo. Wilhelmina was plump and a bit plain, but in the eyes of her love she was nothing short of a goddess.

What didn't work for me:

At times the plotline felt a bit far-fetched, but for the most part it was a lot of fun.

There were a few paragraphs that didn't feel as polished as the rest of the story. There were also some mid-scene point of view switches that left me a bit confused.

Overall:

"Some Girls Do" was a fun, fast read. A good choice for the bubble bath.

Warning: This book has some steamy moments and coarse words within its pages.

If you liked "Some Girls Do" you might also enjoy "Heaven in Your Eyes", "Getting Lucky", "Runaway Bay", "This Heart of Mine", "It Had to be You", "Carried Away", "Fast Women", "Lola Carlyle Reveals All", "Born to be Wild", and "Wishes".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Will Fall In Love With The Romance Genre!, June 12, 2003

By 

Kristi Ahlers (Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Some Girls Do (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a perfect example of why a person reads romance. This book is a feel good book, and you will come away with a smile on your face after you finish it.

The characters are wonderful! Katie Priss is a perfect example of overcoming your past, and still finding love when it's right in front of your face. Michael is a total hero in more ways then one. I loved the interaction between Michael and Katie from the first. There relationship evolves and is wonderful to read.

Wilhemina is a great character. She really comes into her own and lets face it most of us are like this likeable lady then we want to admit. Her storyline was just as entertaining as Michael and Katie's. Chantal,and Jeremy, are also great additions to this wonderful cast of characters.

This should really be on your summer reading list. A perfect book for a long car ride, airplane flight, or a trip to the beach, or just sitting at home avoiding the heat! Let Ms. Banks entertain you, you won't be sorry!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious double tale of romance, April 7, 2006

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Some Girls Do (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)

After spending her childhood living down the exploits of her sassy mother, Katie has done an "un-makeover" on herself, downplaying her beauty and feminine wiles. When her prickly and oft-married boss hires her to find a husband for his mousy daughter with a big bonus thrown in, Katie cannot resist. She needs the money to care for her deaf and motherless brother.

Michael's father lost the family fortune to bad investments and took his own life, causing his mother to go into a severe depression, and Michael was shuttled around. After his last partner cheats him out of his business and his fianc? dumps him, Michael decides that getting the security contract for Ivan Rasmussen will bring him back on top. Although he thinks that the idea to find Wilhemina Rasmussen a husband is ridiculous, he must go along with it if he wants the family business.

Katie soon discovers that finding a man for Wilhemina is going to be harder than she thought in the snobby upper crust Philadelphia society. Wilhemina is not a beauty queen, and her sense of style leaves something to be desired, particularly her penchant for tacky hats. When a scheming trust fund baby breaks her heart, Katie tells a devastated Wilhemina a story about a princess and her cowboy knight. This gets Wilhemina thinking, and faster than Michael can get Katie to let down her hair, Wilhemina has fled in the middle of the night to Texas to find her intended.

Turns out Texas society can be just as bad as Philadelphia, and once again Wilhemina has her feelings stepped on, but this time she fights back, with hilarious results. When she finally meets a nice quiet hog farmer and thinks that he might just be the one, Katie and Michael are hot on her trail to bring her back before daddy finds out. But the more time Katie and Michael spend together, the more their feelings for each other deepen, particularly as they see each other at their most vulnerable.

Will Douglas be able to accept that the eccentric woman he has just met is actually an heiress? Will Katie ever let Michael see her softer side? Banks is at her best injecting comedy into steamy romance. This time we have two great couples - one that is reluctant to commit and one that cannot wait. Throw in a gigolo, a hairless cat, and long lost family members, and you have a memorable romantic tale that will keep you rooting for both couples. While this is definitely Katie's tale, Wilhemina steals it once she gets her groove on! Followed up by "When She's Bad" and "Trouble in High Heels" featuring Katie's younger sisters.