Customer Reviews

Thigh High (Fortune Hunter)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never thought I'd dislike a Christina Dodd book but this one came very close. Mac is the least appealing "hero" I've come across in a long time and Nessa is too perfect and universally loved to be true. On the other hand, the secondary characters were quite entertaining and made the book worthwhile.

To enjoy this book, you have to believe that the love of (or at least hot sex with) a good woman can change the worst jerk into a loving husband no matter how badly he treats her before he has his "aha moment." If you can do that, you will probably enjoy this book much more than I did. I can make that leap nearly all the time in a romance. But most romance novel heroes aren't quite so cruel to the woman they supposedly love as Mac was.

From the plot blurb on the back of the book (not to mention that it was by Christina Dodd whose books I generally like), I was prepared to really like this book. The first half of the book was OK even though the relationship between Mac and Nessa was more out-of-control hormones than romance. Nessa didn't particularly like Mac and Mac thought Nessa was a liar and thief. Nevertheless, they had sexual fireworks. I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief for the sake of a good story -- face it, we don't read romances because we want cold reality. But I do want to see something more than lust and obsession growing between the couple; they should at least like each other. Mac was more obsessed with Nessa than in love with her -- even at the end of the book.

That obsession, combined with the bitter and twisted personality Ms. Dodd wrote for Mac, resulted in a last third to quarter of the book that I just disliked. If a guy did the things Mac did to Nessa and her great-aunts (especially what he did to try to force Nessa to come begging), no sane woman would take him back without extensive therapy. His actions were plain nasty (and occasionally illegal) and much worse than anything he believed Nessa had done to him. The book would have been more satisfying and believable if Nessa had sent Mac off to work out his inner demons and the romantic resolution came after some length of time. As written, I'd expect the epilogue to feature Mac and Nessa on Dr. Phil.

As I mentioned above, the secondary characters were delightful, humorous, occasionally creepy and thoroughly enjoyable. I'd read another book with those characters, but I won't read this one again.

Mac MacNaught is the arrogant, domineering and unyielding self-made CEO of Premier Central Bank. A large, muscular man, his face and body are mapped with scars and he will never be called handsome but he oozes a raw sexuality that captivates women of all ages. He hates liars and thieves and is furious that two bandits have had the audacity to rob his bank during every Mardi Gras for the past four years. From his office in Philadelphia he obsessively watches the video screens of daily operations in his New Orleans bank and, specifically, the actions of the Assistant Manager, Miss Ionessa Dahl, the woman who fascinates him even though he suspects her of planning the Mardi Gras robberies.

Nessa Dahl was orphaned at the age of five and raised by her great aunts, Hestia and Calista Dahl, impoverished but much beloved doyennes of New Orleans society. Because of their financial straits the sisters have been forced to open their Garden District home, The Dahl House, to boarders but still reign supreme as the hostesses of the Mardi Gras party nobody in New Orleans wants to miss. Nessa, liked and admired by the people of New Orleans and the staff and customers at her bank, is primarily responsible for the bank's success but, because of a mistake made seven years ago, has never been given the promotion she yearns for and deserves. She remains under the thumb of Stephanie a/k/a "Stephabeast", the bank manager who is reviled by employees and feared by customers but has the approval and support of the bank's reclusive CEO, MacNaught.

As another Mardi Gras approaches and the man Mac sent to New Orleans to investigate Nessa returns to Philadelphia having clearly fallen under her spell, Mac decides the time has come to take matters into his own hands. Posing as an insurance investigator, he travels to New Orleans to investigate Nessa himself and put a stop to the bank robberies once and for all. The intense sexual attraction between the brash Yankee, Mac and charming Southerner, Nessa is instantaneous and he is relentless in his sexual pursuit of her as they work together to identify the bandits, even as he continues to investigate her and is certain she is the brains behind the robberies, bless his heart.

Dodd has penned another terrific story littered with wonderfully quirky secondary characters, a hero and heroine you'll fall in love with, and enough twists, turns and sizzling hot sensuality to keep you turning pages until the final word.

This author has carved out a dependable niche in the market with her excellently done contemporary romances. Her first, "Trouble in High Heels", was a superb fantsy ride, second one a little weaker, but now she's in top form. The author not only creates smart, sexy lead males and females but fills her story with a lenghty list of secondary characters full of charm and worthy of their own stories. This well written book kept me turning pages because of all my questions--how did he get those scars, nah, couldn't be the old ladies! You'll see what I mean--first class fun and relaxation all the way.

I was hooked on this book from the beginning right through to the end. I enjoy books most that mix laugh out loud humor, quirky characters, hot heros and heroines with attitude and this one has all these things and more. Mac is a classic alpha hero (and thank god he's not classically handsome) and Nessa is just the woman to tame him. I admit it, I love an over the top opposite attracts type romance with a full shot of pure old animal magnetism. Yum!

5 Stars!!!

Christina Dodd's "Thigh High" is a fast paced page turner! I read this in record time considering I am having one of my busiest weeks ever with my business. I picked it up every chance I got.
Christina's characters are wonderfully quirky, delightfully dysfunctional and lovable to their cores. Mac and Nessa are one of the best book-couples I have read about in contemoprary fiction in a long time! The winding plot roads of this book kept me on edge and eagerly wanting more.
The description of post-Katrina New Orleans and its Mardi Gras are spot on and I felt as though I had visited the 'Big Easy' after I finished.
Absolutely wonderful and highly recommended for your summer reading list!

Rachel E. Moniz reviewing for Kaseysview.com

Jeremiah (Mac) MacNaught's New Orleans Banks have been robbed at the same time each year for the last few years. Always during Mardi Gras, and its just about that time now. Even though the amounts have been small for some reason, Jeremiah is not going to have it happen again and he has the perfect plan to find the mastermind. As a matter of fact, he might even have a lead on the person involved.

Ionessa (Nessa) Dahl has worked in the bank for many years. Unfortunately, because of one mistake she just can't seem to get ahead. However, when you live in the South there are always different ways of looking at things and Nessa prefers the more positive way. This is a time of celebration and not even being asked to help with the investigation, with a Yankee no less, is going to keep her from enjoying.

Mac and Nessa work together to figure out who is behind the robberies and at the same time they discover a passion between them. However, all is not going to be easy in paradise when Nessa discovers something about Mac and he decides his initial beliefs were correct. Rage, hurt and misunderstandings are now ruling both Mac and Nessa. When the truth finally comes out and the misunderstandings understood, will Nessa and Mac be able to let the good times roll?

What do you do when the beads are flying? In Thigh High, Nessa helps with the preparations for her family's annual party and wonders if her bank will be hit this year. Mac just knows he's looking for an insider working at his bank, and if he can discover who that will solve the robberies. When Mac and Nessa meet, its the North and South colliding again, except this time the South wins the day. Ms. Dodd had me laughing several times as I watched Mac try to figure out the baffling attitudes around him. I also loved how Nessa was able to combine the strange ins and outs of the investigation and her uppity Yankee at the same time with grace and class. The subtle eroticism is evident from the moment Nessa and Mac meet.

Thigh High is a light-hearted romantic suspense that has an undertone of laughter through out it. If you haven't tried one of Ms. Dodd's contemporaries then you won't go wrong in starting with this one. While this is the third book in the series, they are all stand-alone and don't have to be read in order or together.

Jo
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS STORY. THE MAIN MALE AND FEMALE LEADS WERE SO GOOD TOGETHER. THERE WAS A TERRIFIC STORY LINE WITH A MYSTERY PLOT AND SIZZLING SWEET LOVE/SEX SCENES. THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS WERE RATHER ODD BUT FUN. I'M KEEPING THIS ONE TO READ AGAIN.

I've really enjoyed all of Christina Dodd's contemps but I think this is one of her best. Not only are Nessa and Mac a lot of fun but the cast of secondary characters (including the eccentric aunts and boarders--especially Pootie) are just delightful. They don't interrupt the romance or the suspense but actually enhance it. I also liked the theme of setting the book in New Orleans during the time of its rebirth because that theme echoes through the story and its characters, giving everyone the hope of a happy ending. Nessa and Mac are a very sexy duo! Nessa is essentially a decent woman you could truly relate to as a heroine and I loved Mac as the perfect "wounded billionaire" hero who needs someone to thaw his icy heart. The action scenes are also amazing and very cinematic. Overall, this is a wonderful effort and I highly recommend it!

I love this series. Tongue in Chic is my favorite, though I honestly don't remember much from Trouble in High Heels, just the basic gist and that I enjoyed it. Romantic suspense is my favorite genre and I love how Dodd does it in this series. I enjoyed Thigh High, loved the angst in it (though at times I felt a little weird about how obsessed he was in the beginning and how soon proclamations of love sprang forth). To be honest though, I didn't really like Mac. He was portrayed as so cold and ruthless that it felt awkward for him to be warm and gentle. Especially to how he thought of her during the trial, which made me despise him for thinking that way. I mean yeah, you become desperate when you don't know how to express what you want. But then to just brush it all off as if he never thought that way, or that thinking that way didn't make any difference. Not sure if I'm explaining what I mean very well here, I'm just pondering it. I was hoping for some more anguish on his part I suppose lol. I always love it when the man has to chase after their prize. But that aside, it was thoroughly enjoyable. All day today at work I kept thinking "when I get home, I can read some more!"

I'm more intrigued to know Carrick's story and Gabriel's. And I feel sort of stupid too, until I read this one, it never really dawned on me that Trouble in High Heels was connected LOL.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I'm glad to see that Ms. Dodd is still writing her contemporaries. Much as I want to, I just can't get into the paranormal ones. So "Thigh High" fills the bill for romantic suspense for me.
In fact, the series just gets better with each book.