Customer Reviews

Stuck in Shangri-La (HQN Romance)

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Darcie "Darc" Reed may have a master's in business, but she always seems to pick the (insert an insulting word or two of your own here) of bosses. They hire her for her beauty and are always so surprised when she refuses to put out. No matter how much Darc tries to tone down her looks and come across as a professional businesswoman, her boss is going to make a move on her. And that is exactly what's happening when Attorney Clark Humbolt calls Darcie to inform her of her Uncle Horry's death. So Darc hands over her (insert another colorful word here) resignation, packs her bags, and heads to Uncle Horry's massive house and estate called "Shangri-La".

Hecuba "Horry" Willikins has always loved his toys and gadgets. His home is filled with toys of all types inside and out. (Including a stripper's pole decorated to resemble an anorexic barber pole in full working order, to the rows of solar powered frogs up either side of the driveway that croak as anything passes them. We won't even discuss the flamingo lawn ornaments or the Victorian mansion's paint job.) When Horry last saw his niece, Darcie, with her fiancé named Cameron "Cam" Pierce, he knew they were totally in love. However, the two did not really KNOW each other. So when they broke up, Horry had a new will made up in hopes of bringing the two back together.

Imagine everyone's surprise when the will is read and they discover that Darc and Cam must live together in Shangri-La for thirty days or watch the sizable fortune go to the cat, Lucky! And if anything happens to Lucky, the entire inheritance goes to Uncle Horry's estranged step-brother (that no one even knew existed)! To make things even more interesting, Lily Paige had been Uncle Horry's housekeeper and mistress for thirty years only to find out that she has been provided for (but not huge amount) and told that she may live in Shangri-La for as long as she wants. Needless-to-say, she is furious! Cam agrees to stay the thirty days so that Darcie will receive her Uncle Horry's inheritance, but he also hopes that he can use that time to win Darc back. It is only a couple of days before the step-brother, Edwin "Poobie", shows up with his latest arm decoration, Pookie.

Well Lucky is no stupid cat! He knows a target has been painted on his back for the next thirty days. And he makes sure that Horry's ghost knows it. As for Uncle Horry, he is aghast at what his will has caused to happen. Two people have teamed up to help Lucky have a fatal accident, but Lucky and Horry have no way of telling Darcie and Cameron that someone is out to kill Lucky, much less whom. One thing is for sure, the next month in Shangri-La is going to be anything but boring!

***** A modern day romance with some magical and ghostly elements. All the characters are so lively, even the feline and the dead one, that I hated putting the book down whenever reality forced me to. I fell in love with Lucky and Uncle Horry. I hated to see the story end. And I hope that Cam's partner gets his story told someday! I cannot recommend this hilarious romp highly enough! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Darcie Reed's Uncle Horry has kicked the bucket, and his will is a doozy. If she wants to inherit his estate, called "Shangri-La," she has to live in the mansion for a month-with her ex, Cameron Pierce-and take care of Lucky, the cat. If anything happens to said feline, the whole enchilada goes to an obscure relative. She knew her uncle was eccentric, but the posthumous matchmaking did beat all.

Little does Darcie know that Uncle Horry's ghost is hanging around talking with his beloved Lucky. Horry means to get Darcie and Cameron together before he goes to meet the light, even if it means putting Lucky into some humiliating situations. If that's not enough, poor Lucky, a god among cats, of course, has to live in fear for his nine lives as someone is plotting against him.

In a voice as irrepressible as her cast of characters, Michaels paints a vivid picture of sophistication doused with a heavy layer of hilarity. Darcie's motivations were a little weak, and Cameron had a few childish moments almost on par with Uncle Horry. At times, these two flaws work, but at other times, they are a distraction.

While the characters aren't brilliant, each of them has enough depth to be interesting. In fact, the cat may have been the smartest one there. Unfortunately, the by-play between Horry and Lucky upstage the romance at times.

If you're looking for a madcap romantic comedy with more than a hint of naughtiness, "Stuck in Shangri-La" is worth the read.

-C.W.

This is the first book I've read by this author - and could quite possibly be the last. The writing isn't that bad but by page 100 I was so angry with these characters I seriously considered going on to another book even though I hate not finishing something once I've started reading it.

Stupid and Disturbed. That's the phrase that continually comes to mind when thinking about this story.

This is definitely not a romantic tale. There isn't a single character in it that is even likable, let alone loveable. Certainly not the two main characters who show absolutely no chemistry between them. Admittedly she's a bit scatter-brained but his dismissive treatment of her shouldn't be tolerated for a single second. And for her to find him kissing his ex-girlfriend not even 24 hours after they've had an argument should be enough to tell her that he's not the one for her. It should also be enough for him to realize that she's not the one for him either if his answer to an argument is to run out and start making out with someone else. We're talking about people in their twenties and thirties here, not their brain-addled hormone-raging teens.

I can only hope this book wasn't meant to be comedic because other than the various assaults on the lawn art by the characters there is nothing to laugh about here. The uncle's manipulation of his niece and her ex-fiancee are unforgivable and made me long for her to be able to tell the attorney where he could put this inheritance and walk away from it all. Especially with the uncle being in ghost form so he would be sure to know just how obnoxious she should have thought he was by coming up with such an abomination of a will. Any person with half a brain could have seen that such a will basically put a death sentence on the head of the poor cat, yet the uncle couldn't figure that out in the first place and the two main characters are continuously careless about the poor thing's well-being after the fact. And why would you saddle a niece you supposedly care about with the permanent presence of another person in what's supposed to become her home? That the housekeeper is a mean wretch on top of it is actually beside the point. And why would the niece invite two complete strangers to stay at the house based solely on a claimed relation? Disregard the fact that a potential heir is going to try and see that the conditions of the will go his or her way, either one of them could have turned out to be a homicidal maniac. That's not a smart move in anyone's book. (No pun intended.)

The only person in this story who is remotely likeable with a modicum of functioning grey cells is the cat!

This book left me with such a bad feeling that had it not been after 10:00 pm when I finished it, I would have immediately started another book just to get rid of the nasty aftertaste I had from this one. Thank goodness I picked it up from the library and don't have to feel bad about having spent money on buying it. I can actually feel good about returning it and getting it out of my house.

Just outside Philadelphia, Hecuba "Horry" Willikins is enjoying sex with his housekeeper Lily Paige when he suddenly dies with a smile on his face. A few days later in Pittsburgh, his beloved niece Darcie Reed is being sexually harassed by her boss when she learns that her uncle died. She quits her job and heads to Shangri-la Horry's wild Cliff House home for the reading of the will. Her former fiancé Cameron Pierce is being sexually harassed by a female vulture when he finds out that Horry wanted him to attend the reading of his will.

Attorney Clark Humboldt shows the video will in which Horry provides for his "Little Lily Pad" and informs Cameron and Darcie that they have joint custody of his estate in trust for his cat Lucky for one month. If either leaves early, everything goes to his half-brother Edwin. At the end of the month they will decide who gets Lucky, the house, and the estate. Cameron and Darcie reluctantly agree the terms of Horry's will. However, someone wants them to fail by causing trouble between them.

Though a little communication between the lead couple would have solved some of their differences, fans will appreciate this superb paranormal contemporary romance. Horry the otherworldly matchmaker through the will and somewhat as a ghost mostly observes the human foibles and communicates with Lucky. The cast is solid as the secondary characters including the intelligent feline bring out the best and worst in the dueling duet as they struggle with one another, the ghost, someone wanting them to leave, and just being STUCK IN SHANGRI-LA for a month together of no sex though both want it.

Harriet Klausner

Darcie wants to be taken seriously as a businesswoman; so much so that she broke her engagement when her fiance Cameron was not properly sympathetic after she resigned from a position due to sexual harassment nine months earlier. Well, she relocated and sure enough, is a victim all over again. At the reading of her eccentric uncle's will, she discovers that he has left his fortune to his cat, Lucky (yeah, that is one lucky cat!), with the stipulation that Darcie and Cameron co-habitate for 30 days in his psychedelic mansion (complete with flamingos and talking frogs), then they can decide how to split the fortune. If they cannot stick it out for 30 days, then his estranged half brother will inherit. Sounds easy - well, the kicker is that Lucky has to survive that 30 days too, and someone is determined to cut at least eight of his nine lives.

The story is chock full of amusing secondary characters, including a maid who looks and acts suspiciously like Frau Blucher from "Young Frankenstein" who provided sexual services for 30 years (only to be frozen out of the will); a clothing-challenged estate lawyer who always has a tee-time; and a couple that goes by Poobie and Pookie (that got old really quickly).

Michaels tries to keep the story light and breezy, but oftentimes, it is just downright annoying - particularly the conversations between the deceased uncle and the cat. I felt that the story was disjointed. On the one hand it was a romantic comedy with snappy dialog; on the other hand, it was a tongue in cheek paranormal that just didn't gel for me. There really is not a whole lot of mystery - you can see the baddie a mile away. This was tough one to get through - you might want to pick it up at the library instead.

This was a wacky murder mystery with twist of romance novel. The book starts off with the onwer (Uncle Horry) of the Shangri-La dieing and then becomes a ghost. Uncle Horry had set-up his will that his neice Darcie and her ex-fiance Cameron must live at the Shangri-La for 30 days protecting the cat. The problem is that someone wants the cat dead she Darcie and Cameron don't get the house or the money. If you enjoy ghost and mysteries and would also suggest Kate Angell such as `Crazy for you'.