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76 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New Jersey Meets Vermont, January 3, 2002
Hank Malone was the town bad boy. He's returned to take up his inheritance - an apple orchard in Vermont. He has plans to turn it into a serious organic business, but in the town's eyes, he's still the same troublemaking stud he used to be, and the bank won't take him seriously for a loan. To change his image, he decides to hire a wife for six months, to give the illusion of stability and hopefull get the business loan. He hires Maggie Toone in New Jersey and brings her to his farm. She's eager to escape her small town life and job as a teacher, and relishes the chance to fulfill her dream of writing a book based upon her aunt's diaries. One small problem - her aunt was the local madam. This is a very funny and witty book. Hank and Maggie's relationship is romantic and sexy. The dialogue is classic Evanovich - she easily writes in the rhythm of natural speech so the reader feels as though he/she could step right into the conversation. Hank falls in love with Maggie right off the bat and plots to make their marriage a real one; she is not so sure that she wants to be stuck in another small town. Elsie Hawkins, a reoccuring character in Ms. Evanovich's romances, is present here as a temporary housekeeper. She is the prototype of the Grandma Mazur character of the Stephanie Plum series - a feisty, blunt-speaking senior who drives a '57 Cadillac, packs a gun, and is in serious pursuit of the male species (in her age group, they tend to drop dead unexpectedly so she tries to act quickly). Hopefully, someday these early Evanovich books will be reissued, but until then, this definitely one used-book worth finding.
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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good early Evanovich, even tho a nearly plotless love story, March 29, 2002
I didn't know Janet Evanovich wrote romance stories earlier in her career, but I stumbled across this title and couldn't resist seeing how she did before she got famous with her Stephanie Plum bounty hunter series. The good news is: Janet is just as funny and whimsical here as are her better known recent works. The bad news is, the plot synopsis can be stated in about 20 words: man hires woman to pose as wife, they immediately fall insanely in love, and will they stay together after the gig?? Bet you can guess! Between the heated blood coursing through their veins at every touch, to -- well you get the drift. I guess that's why they call these bodice rippers! For a nice easy read, no mental stress, little doubt about the story line, and some heart warming (I guess) relationship study (with no explicit sex), coupled with that great Evanovich sense of humor, give it a try. Supposedly she did a few others for Loveswept, but I'll take my chances on missing those.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wife For Hire, April 6, 2008
This review is from: Wife for Hire (Mass Market Paperback)
Maggie Toone is taking a sabbatical from teaching to write a book based on her Aunt Kitty's diaries. Aunt Kitty was a madam, so this book would be great in Maggie's opinion. Since she still needed some type of income to pay bills, she was looking for something she could do that would allow her to concentrate most of her time on the book. Hank Malone needed a wife. He didn't want to get married or do anything drastic like that, so he contacted an employment agency about hiring a wife. As it turns out, Maggie was the only one willing to move up to Vermont and pose as Hank's wife. He was trying to secure a loan to help his business Malone Apple Orchards, and needed to prove his stability. Hank had grown up in the area, and was quite the hell raiser, so he needed to prove to the community that he had indeed settled down. To make matters worse, his own father was the bank president, so he needed to prove himself to his father also.
As Maggie settled into her new temporary home, she found herself incredibly attracted to Hank. The feeling was mutual, and left Hank wondering if he had make the right decision bringing her to his home. He introduced her to everyone as his new wife, and had the entire town fooled including his family. As the weeks went by, both started feeling guilty about their deception, and even guiltier because they wanted their marital status to become reality.
This was a good light read. An earlier work of JE that doesn't compare to her work today, but it was enjoyable.
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