Sex, Lies, and Mistletoe by Tawny Weber (Undercover Operatives #1)
November 15, 2011
Contemporary Romance
Harlequin

Reviewed by May

Favorite Quote: “What are the chances that sex with Caleb Black will be as good as Baryshnikov, Stonehenge, and the amazing Johnny Depp all rolled into one experience?”

“I think the chances are pretty damn good.”
Pandora sank her head into the char’s pillowed back and sighed. She thought so, too.

Pandora Easton is without a job, boyfriend, or any self-esteem to speak of. She crawls back home to Black Oak, CA and is determined to save Moonspun Dreams, the store that has been run by generations of women in her family. She finds an old book filled with her grandma’s aphrodisiac laced recipes and turns the back room of her shop into a lunch-only café serving up dishes like Hot-cha-cha chicken and French-kissing fries. Turns out the locals love her good cooking (and its side effects) and soon business is booming.

Just riding into town is bad boy Caleb Black. At least, bad boy is the reputation he’s given himself as a front for what he really is – DEA. Though he resigned, he’s looking into one last case in Black Oak because someone is moving a new kind of drug from there, one the Feds don’t want spreading. His dad is the main suspect, and though they haven’t spoken in years he wants to clear his dad’s name. Things get complicated when he falls for the girl who runs the new-age shop next to his dad’s motorcycle garage, and when it looks like she might be selling not just food that turns people on, but drugs as well things get even more complicated.

I use the word complicated in the sense that these two have some roadblocks, but it’s a pretty straight forward story. Pandora is still very shaken from her experience with an ex-boyfriend (who used her computer to run illegal drug sales on internet) and her brush with the law, so when Caleb is in town to both investigate her and he is flirting with her – you know that’s going to come back around and bite him on his ass. We never get deep into the details or procedures of Caleb’s work, nor do we get into the details of Pandora’s cooking – which I think would have added a lot to make this book stand out.

While predictable, it was refreshing to read a romance that was almost entirely about the two main characters and their fast growing connection to each other. While it’s a sexual attraction, they also both notice how comfortable they are, how friendly, how well matched. I thought the author did a good job of both showing us this as well as the characters verbally recognizing the match. It was also interesting to me how the author reveals parallels in the characters, what their personal blocks are and why they are struggling with their respective parents so much.

I did find myself frequently frustrated by Pandora’s lack of self-esteem. She believes that she has to feed Caleb aphrodisiacs in order to turn him on,  she doesn’t believe in her own skills or talent, she doesn’t think she is all that attractive, she wants to lean on other people and get their opinions verses listening to her own inner voice – and so on. In fact she frequently took away from my enjoyment and pulled me out of the story. With a more confident heroine (or at least one who becomes much more so!) I would have enjoyed this a lot more.

I appreciated that the setting wasn’t an overly-sweet small town where nothing bad ever happens, though elements were indeed classic small town fare. Other disappoints with this story included the prologue which sets things in motion but is never followed up on, and the drug dealing bad guy is who I had pegged in one of the earliest scenes. When the reveal happens it wasn’t at all surprising.

While far from a perfect read, this was a fast paced, steamy, and light hearted story that I found enjoyable. I am looking forward to and will be checking out the two books (featuring Caleb’s siblings) coming in early 2012.

Grade: C+

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