The Loner (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

He's every woman's fantasy. She's every bodyguard's nightmare... Lucas "Huck" Finn is thrilled to join elite Ranger Security until he learns his new assignment is to babysit heiress Sapphira Stravos a doggy-toting debutante who's driving everyone crazy. Still he can't help but feel there's more to Sapphira than meets the eye. And what's meeting the eye is damn hard to resist....

Thanks to a few stupid threatening letters Sapphira Stravos is having her style cramped big-time! How is she going to look after the charities she secretly supports? Although she'd managed to ditch her former jailers this guy isn't budging. Still having a guy as hot as Huck around has its perks. After all if he has to guard her body he might as well get to enjoy it too....

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373794045
• ISBN-13: 978-0373794041
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,660 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than expected, November 24, 2008

By	nodice (Manchester, Ga United States) - See all my reviews

3.5 stars. When I first started this book, I didn't think that I would like it. The heroine's secret and reasoning left me frowning at the pages, plus I was just told how good a Ranger Huck was, I never really saw it. For me the premise came off contrived and I never got why Sapphira was afraid of her father nor how Huck was looking for a father of whom he had no name. I mean-what name was on his birth certificate? Still, the love story between the characters was captivating because the author clearly is talented. The love/sex scenes were hot, but again the over all plot left me wanting.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Blaze, indeed!, July 21, 2008

A Kid's Review

Thank you Rhonda Nelson for creating a heroine who is NOT nearly six feet tall and 120 pounds (or conversely, 5 foot tall and 90 pounds). She's fuller, curvier and in touch with her sensuality. More like the majority of us reading these books. Thanks even more for creating a hero who loves that kind of body. (Now if you could only manifest those in real life!)

Again, we've got the tortured warrior stereotype, but he's clever and on top of his game with the heroine. Again, with the heiress with something to hide, but she's engaging and real. I love the challenges these two throw at each other in the book, as well as the spicy sex scenes. Well done.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I've Found a New Fav!, July 16, 2008

By	GoodwinsGal (Lombard, IL United States) - See all my reviews

For oh-so-long finding a contemporary romance writer was a daunting task. Many of my past favs have left me wanting, so it was by sheer luck that I stumbled on Rhonda Nelson via Harlequin's website and their promotion of The Loner. Of course when I wanted to get it, the book wasn't even available and I wound up discovering Rhonda Nelson via another book (but that's a totally different review - Feeling the Heat). By the time The Loner fell into my hands, I was both optimistic and a little afraid that the book wouldn't live up to my expectations. But it did!

Lucas "Huck" Finn blew apart his life with one fouled up parachute landing that blows out his knee, and winds up working for Nelson's previously introduced (and hot!) ex-Rangers turned private security/bodyguards. The fit is fabulous, but Lucas' first gig -- protecting the high society, pampered, spoiled, mini-dog toting heiress Sapphira Stravos isn't exactly the kind of assignment a guy like Lucas had in mind. But there's more to Sapphira than meets the eye. She's smart, funny, sassy, and is leading a secret double-life that Daddy can't find out about.

The whole mystery stalker/threatening note writer element is light throughout the plot, but Lucas and Sapphira's relationship is always center stage. The book is full of laughs and lust, and you like both of the characters. The attraction and sexual tension is established instantly and keeps sizzling through each and every page.

The only slight negative I'd mention is that Nelson has a tendency to summarize moments (like Lucas finally talking to his mother about who his father is or the conversations when Lucas finds out what Sapphira is *really* doing with her time) and then just kind of fold it into narrative as a sidemention. It doesn't detract from the reader's enjoyment of the story, but in this one, I was left thinking, "Man, I'd have liked to see that conversation..."

Nelson delivers solid characters, hot heroes, spunky heroines, and definitely sexy sex in The Loner, and she will be one author I'll definitely keep my eyes open for at the bookstore... in fact, I'll be looking this August (2008) for The Hell-Raiser!