Her Sexiest Mistake (Signet Eclipse) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Advertising executive extraordinaire, Prada shopaholic, and all-around tough-as-steel LA Mia Appleby could put a good spin on anything, but waking up in the bed of..." (more)
Key Phrases: teen center, stinky feet, Mia Appleby, Cookie Madness, Where's Hope (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Mia Appleby is a fraud. Outwardly a successful ad exec and fashionista ice queen, she has never emotionally matured from the needy little girl raised in a Tennessee trailer park, and her favorite coping strategy is fast hot sex without commitment. Thus, when Kevin McKnight captures her attention with his bad-boy biker attire and attitude, she enjoys one night with him, then astounds him by walking away. Work-related stresses, combined with the challenges she faces when her rebellious, goth-attired, 16-year-old niece arrives for a visit, push her back into Kevin's arms repeatedly and often until Kevin insists that he deserves more and Mia is struck with the realization that her wonderful new life is empty of any real satisfaction. Set in the Los Angeles hills, Shalvis'contemporary romance contrasts the two very different roads traveled by two people with similar histories: Mia embraces materialism, while Kevin, a high-school teacher, tries to improve the lives of others at the expense of his own. Lynne Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

Trusting the heart is the most sensual risk of all

With a fab career, a salary that keeps her in her favorite designers, and her own condo, Mia Appleby has everything she dreamed of as a poor little girl gazing out the window of her mom's trailer. Her old life is completely gone. That is until she has a one-night stand with her handsome new neighbor, Kevin McNight. She ends it before she totally falls for him. But Kevin isn't like other men and won't let Mia off that easy. And neither will her runaway Goth niece, Hope, who inconveniently shows up at her doorstep with hopes for a new life. Now, Mia must keep her new fan club at a safe distance-before they burst her fairytale façade.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Signet (December 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451217098
• ISBN-13: 978-0451217097
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #742,974 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun from Jill Shalvis, December 13, 2005

By	Laurie (OH - USA) - See all my reviews

Mia Appleby is more than satisfied with where she is in life. She has a great paying job, a beautiful home, and she's states away from her mother, her sister, and the trailer home life that she grew up in. After waking up in bed with her gorgeous neighbor, Kevin McNight following a night of toe-curling passion, she can't believe that he's offended that it was nothing more to her than a one night stand, or was it? Mia finds herself thinking about Kevin a good deal of the time.

Mia is determined to remain as far as possible from life as she knew it growing up. Kevin thinks that Mia is shallow and self-centered and when her niece Hope, who has run away from home, comes to stay with Mia he can't believe that the two of them are total strangers to each other, which only reinforces his negative thoughts of her. Mia has no idea how to handle her troubled niece, and is thankful that Kevin, being a high school teacher, understands the workings of the teenage mind. Kevin understands much more than that, he also knows all too well how to unleash Mia's every passion and the two of them can hardly keep their hands off of each other. Kevin is also dealing with a troubled family member, his deaf brother has no self-esteem thanks to their abusive father and Kevin is trying to help him get on the right track, repeatedly having to get him out of trouble.

Mia needs Kevin and Hope needs Mia much more than either is willing to admit. Kevin wants to be there for Mia but convincing her that he wants more than a few quick interludes might prove to be his most difficult endeavor. The relationship between Mia and Hope is excellently written. They both have been deprived of the most basic shows of affection or love, and watching their relationship mesh is heartwarming to say the least. Experiencing Kevin's attempts at breaching Mia's self-protecting walls is a real delight.

Jill Shalvis captures human emotion as few authors can. She pulls you into a book from the beginning and can frustrate you because you can't read fast enough. This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves a sensual romance laced with humor and lighthearted fun as well as an intriguing relationship study. I recommend this book and suggest that you do yourself a favor and order it immediately. I would give it 6 stars if possible.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From a trailer park to the LA Hills, August 14, 2006

By	Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Mia Appleby has shunned her humble beginnings and has transformed herself from a Tennessee trailer park to a near mansion in the LA hills. She is a shark of an ad exec and exhibits the same behavior in the bedroom - she has never met a man she wants to bed more than once. And then she sleeps with neighbor Kevin... Her orderly world is thrown into chaos as she finds herself wanting more than a night with Kevin, but not able to make any promises beyond that. Further adding a kink to her armor is the arrival of her niece Hope, a surly Goth teen who reminds Mia of herself.

Kevin is a sexy Harley-riding high school science teacher. He supports his ne'er do well half-brother Michael who has permanent hearing loss as a result of a beating buy his father. He knows that in order for Michael to spread his wings he needs to let him fend for himself, but guilt traps him in the never-ending cycle. Kevin in intrigued by Mia, who he thinks is shallow, and finds that all she seems to want from him is nightly stud service. He is amazed that Hope and Mia have never met in person. In a switch from most romance plots, it is the gal with the commitment issues instead of the guy, who is the nurturing one.

As Mia discovers that her sister Sugar is looking for a vacation from parenthood and has no intention of coming to get her daughter, Mia leans on Kevin more and more to help her cope with a role she was not cut out for. Can Hope and Kevin break down the walls that Mia has erected before it's too late?

This is my first Shalvis book and won't be the last. From the witty repartee and sensuality between Mia and Kevin to the dialog via sign language between Kevin and Michael, the story is engaging.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sexy Read Indeed, February 5, 2006

By	Butterscotch (USA) - See all my reviews

This book was very fast-paced, sexy, and fun. The book is a romance, and the main characters are well-rounded and interesting. Mia Appleby is a tough as nails woman with a shameful past, and Kevin McKnight is her sexy neighbor - a man who teachers troubled youth during the day and rides his motorbike at night. In a romantic twist, the female (Mia) is the one who is reluctant to love; while Kevin wears his heart on his sleeve for Mia, she remains dispassionate towards him - despite enjoying his body nightly. The chemistry between the Mia and Kevin is HOT and even the introduction of a teenager into their lives doesn't dampen their love life. This book will make you a happy reader for a few hours.